Mountain Music (beautiful Alpine Symphony by
Richard Strauss) ---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15937551

|
In April 2007,
wind
shears in these mountains took off half the shingles of my
relatively new roof and uprooted
countless trees in the White Mountain National Forest. Roofers
temporarily covered our roof and commenced to put
on new architectural shingles in June. The above picture shows Mike
putting on new lead flashing around a chimney before nailing down new
shingles. We're still waiting to repair our dining room ceiling .
It was leak-damaged by water in this
Nor'easter.
Mostly I show you pictures of
these mountains on sunny days. Actually while I'm sitting at my computer,
I prefer to watch the storm clouds move across the mountains. Sometimes they are
dark, fast moving,
and ominous overhead. At other times it can be a nice day on our hill when we
are looking down at
clouds in the valley where, sometimes, it is even raining under those clouds on
villages along the
rivers --- like
Franconia down below on the Gale River and
Littleton on the Connecticut River and
Ammonoosuc (Wild) River.
The pictures below
were taken mostly from behind my windows and at different times.
Sometimes
the camera flash and raindrops reflect on the glass.
|















Stormy Weather
Fred Astaire once called this performance "the greatest dance number ever
filmed."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM
Stormy Weather
As only Ella could sing it ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teXOPAFMOp0
Stormy Weather
Lena Horne's Rendition ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUd8V7G8t0c
Tidbits on November 15, 2007
Bob Jensen
For earlier editions of Tidbits go to
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter ---
Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron"
enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and
other universities is at
http://www.searchedu.com/.
Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures
---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations
Bob Jensen's Threads ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm
Bob Jensen's Home Page is at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/
You can read about Erika's surgeries and see her pictures at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Erika2007.htm
Personal pictures are at
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/PictureHistory/
Some personal videos are at
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/EdTech/Video/Personal/
Bob Jensen's blogs and various threads on many topics ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm
(Also scroll down to the table at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ )
Set up free conference calls at
http://www.freeconference.com/
If you want to help our badly injured troops, please check out
Valour-IT: Voice-Activated Laptops for Our Injured Troops ---
http://www.valour-it.blogspot.com/
Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available
free on the Web.
I created a page that summarizes those various links ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
VIDEO -- Now Playing on WSJ.com Al-Zawahiri's Version of Islam
Editorial page writer Bret Stephens speaks to Dr. Tawfik Hamid, an Islamic
scholar, about his experience with Ayman al-Zawahiri, an influential al-Qaeda
leader.
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0004.html?bcpid=86195573&bclid=212338097&bctid=1305005070
B-29 Model Airplane ---
http://users.skynet.be/fa926657/files/B29.wmv
From UC Berkeley --- Scroll down at
http://www.youtube.com/profile_play_list?user=ucberkeley
- PACS 164A: Introduction to Nonviolence - Fall 2006 (28
Videos)
Introduction to Nonviolence - Fall 2006. An introduction to the science of
nonviolence, mainly as seen through the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi.
Historical overview of nonviolence East and the West up to the American
Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr., with emphasis on the
ideal of principled nonviolence and the reality of mixed or strategic
nonviolence in practice, especially as applied to problems of social justice
and defense.
- PACS 164B: Introduction to Nonviolence - Spring 2007
(27 Videos)
Introduction to Nonviolence - Spring 2007. An introduction to the science
of nonviolence, mainly as seen through the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi.
Historical overview of nonviolence East and the West up to the American
Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr., with emphasis on the
ideal of principled nonviolence and the reality of mixed or strategic
nonviolence in practice, especially as applied to problems of social justice
and defense.
- Physics 10 - Physics for Future Presidents (26 Videos)
Physics 10: Physics for Future Presidents. Spring 2006. Professor Richard A.
Muller. The most interesting and important topics in physics, stressing
conceptual understanding rather than math, with applications to current
events. Topics covered may vary and may include energy and conservation,
radioactivity, nuclear physics, the Theory of Relativity, lasers,
explosions, earthquakes, superconductors, and quantum physics. [courses]
[physics10] [spring2006] Credits: lecturer:Professor Richard A. Muller,
producers:Educational Technology Services
- SIMS 141 - Search Engines (6 Videos)
Search Engines: Technology, Society, and Business. The World Wide Web brings
much of the world's knowledge into the reach of nearly everyone with a
computer and an internet connection. The availability of huge quantities of
information at our fingertips is transforming government, business, and many
other aspects of society. Topics include search advertising and auctions,
search and privacy, search ranking, internationalization, anti-spam efforts,
local search, peer-to-peer search, and search of blogs and online
communities. The Instructor, Dr. Marti Hearst, is an associate professor in
the School of Information at UC Berkeley, with an affiliate appointment in
the Computer Science Division.
- Over 300 other UC Berkeley courses on YouTube video ---
http://www.youtube.com/ucberkeley
- Bob Jensen's threads on open courseware from major
universities (including many courses freely shared by online video) ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI
FORA.tv (video and podcasts) brings together content from the
Hoover Institution, the Global Philanthropy Forum, the World Affairs Council,
the American Jewish Committee, and dozens of other organizations ---
http://www.fora.tv/
"The Viral Video Hall of Fame" From crooning politicians to a
grocery store manager who can crush windpipes with his mind, these are the
greatest hits of the YouTube Age," PC World via The Washington Post,
November 12, 2007 ---
Click Here
The Trippiest Optical Illusions on the 'Net ---
http://www.switched.com/2007/10/15/the-trippiest-optical-illusions-on-the-net/
Free music downloads ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
"After two hours, I looked at
my watch," a reviewer of Wagnerian opera is said to have written. "I found that
17 minutes had gone by."
As quoted in PhysOrg, November 12, 2007 ---
http://physorg.com/news114010680.html
Mountain Music (beautiful Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss)
---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15937551
Mahler's First Symphony (full concert) ---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16013157
Nickel Creek Farewell Concert (Hear the Full
Concert) ---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15731658
Near the end of Miles Davis' career, he gave
young Wallace Roney the gift of a trumpet. That blue horn — yes, silvery blue —
has engaged in a lot of serious music-making, first with Davis and now with
Roney as a solo act.
Hear a Full Concert by Wallace Roney at the Kennedy Center Jazz Club ---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15863011
Pepe Romero and the Art of the Spanish Guitar ---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15203122
Bill Bojangles Robinson (I Can't Give You
Anything But Love)---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmcpGe1j-W0
Stormy Weather
Fred Astaire once called this performance "the greatest dance number ever
filmed."...Tap Nicholas Brothers Fayard Harold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM
Stormy Weather
As only Ella could sing it ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teXOPAFMOp0
A Tribute to the Incredible Gilda Radner ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scSpb6Q949o
Britney Spears singing Everytime on Saturday Night Live ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMccA6IxDdM
I want them to play Britney Spears at my funeral.
This way I won't feel so bad about being dead, and everyone there will know
there is something worse than Death.
Gary Numan
Stompin' Tom Connors - Sudbury Saturday Night (Live 2005) ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw7rzpvDvS0
Country Music Legend Hank Thompson Dies:
Hear the NPR Announcement on November 8, 2007 ---
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16112454
Read about Hank here ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Thompson_%28music%29
Piano Tutorial #20 Wild Side of Life Honky Tonk
Angels ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoV-wKbqJzA
Kitty Wells - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3ysK0zfGc
k.d. lang - Honky Tonk Angels Medley ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Cq50myLZs
Honky Tonk Angel (Elvis) ---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKlqSYEXPe4
Photographs and Art
Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various
types electronic literature available free on the Web.
I created a page that summarizes those various links ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm
Bentham Open Access ---
http://www.bentham.org/open/
Bentham Publishers recently launched over 200 peer-reviewed open access journals
(heavy on science, engineering, and medicine)
Hemingway Archives ---
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Hemingway+Archive/
The Legend Of Scotland by Lewis
Carroll ---
Click Here
The Door In The Wall by
Herbert G. Wells ---
Click Here
Boston Public Library
100 Most Influential Books of the Century Booklists for Adults ---
http://www.bpl.org/research/AdultBooklists/influential.htm
University of Michigan Internet Public Library ---
http://www.ipl.org.ar/ref/QUE/FARQ/bestsellerFARQ.html
Logos Free Books ---
http://www.logosfreebooks.org/
University of
Adelaide Library’s collection of Web books ---
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/
Find over 500 biographies of the most important
writers ---
http://litweb.net/
Internet Book List ---
http://www.iblist.com/list.php?type=book&key=A&by=genre&genre=4
The Internet
Classics Archives from MIT ---
http://classics.mit.edu/
The Free Library ---
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/
Eye on Europe: prints, books & multiples / 1960 to
now ---
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2006/eyeoneurope/
That men do not learn very much from the lessons of
history is the most important of all the lessons of history.
Aldous Huxley ---
Click Here
The easiest way for your children to learn about
money is for you not to have any.
Katharine Whitehorn
One thing's for sure, in the war between freedom and
fear, our side is going to have better t-shirts.
Dave Winer
When you hear "ecosystem" instead say "egosystem"
and see if it still works.
Dave Winer
I want them to play Britney Spears at my funeral.
This way I won't feel so bad about being dead, and everyone there will know
there is something worse than Death.
Gary Numan
Why don't you turn on your toys and watch them play
with each other.
Mother to Young Boy, The Wall Street Journal
Cartoon, November 13, 2007
Surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle. The shark — a
monster great white that came out of nowhere — had hit him three times, peeling
the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the bone. That’s when a pod
of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around Endris,
allowing him to get to shore, where quick first aid provided by a friend saved
his life. “Truly a miracle,” Endris told TODAY’s Natalie Morales on Thursday.
Mike Celizic, "Dolphins save surfer
from becoming shark’s bait," MSNBC, November 8, 2007 ---
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/?GT1=10547
You can read aboutbottlenose dolphins at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_Dolphin
Pass the smelling salts; someone in Brussels has
discovered the Laffer Curve. Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner and
erstwhile British Labour minister, crossed over to the supply side during a
speech at the European Parliament on Monday. Explaining why trade liberalization
would benefit poor countries, Mr. Mandelson addressed developing nations' claims
that they might lose government revenues if they reduced tariff levels. "The
evidence," Mr. Mandelson said, "is that when tariffs come down, tariff revenue
tends to go up." Arthur Laffer couldn't have said it better himself. When you
tax something you tend to get less of it, and a tariff is just a tax on imports.
Lower tariffs, and you'll probably get more imports -- and taking a smaller
portion of a bigger pie often is better than taking a larger hunk of a tinier
pie.
"The Mandelson Curve," The Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2007 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119456220037387152.html
The big world of classical physics mostly seems
sensible: waves are waves and particles are particles, and the moon rises
whether anyone watches or not. The tiny quantum world is different: particles
are waves (and vice versa), and quantum systems remain in a state of multiple
possibilities until they are measured -- which amounts to an intrusion by an
observer from the big world -- and forced to choose: the exact position or
momentum of an electron, say. On what scale do the quantum world and the
classical world begin to cross into each other? How big does an "observer" have
to be? It's a long-argued question of fundamental scientific interest and
practical importance as well, with significant implications for attempts to
build solid-state quantum computers.
"The world's smallest double slit experiment," PhysOrg,
November 9, 2007 ---
http://physorg.com/news113822439.html
In the latest example of potentially harmful
Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and
beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province,
China Daily newspaper said. "These cheap and colourful rubber bands and hair
ties sell well ... threatening the health of local people," it said. Despite
being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it
said. "People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if
they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair
into plaits or buns," the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his
surname, Dong, as saying . . .
Yahoo News, November 12, 2007 ---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071113/hl_afp/chinahealthcondomsoffbeat_071113034834
Jensen Comment
It was quite a stretccch to come up with this Tidbit. It must be very macho to
show up at the recycling center weekly with a trash can filled only with your
own used condoms. Celebrity-sourced hair bands supposedly will be in
great demand.
Starbucks, the Onion once reported, "continued its
rapid expansion Tuesday, opening its newest location in the men's room of an
existing Starbucks." In real life, it hasn't come to that--yet. But Starbucks
has seemingly caffeinated the U.S. and the world. There are now 10,000 stores
spread across North America (more than 170 in Manhattan alone) and an additional
4,000 in more than 40 countries, stretching from Bahrain to Brazil. Starbucks
stores have become a retail icon, a daily habit and a late-night punchline. "The
only way the oil companies could make more money," Jay Leno quipped a couple of
years ago, "would be if they were drilling for oil and struck Starbucks coffee."
In "Starbucked," Taylor Clark sets out to explain such scorching success. He
offers, along the way, an entertaining, instructive and refreshingly even-handed
account of the company's life so far.
Mathew Rees, "The Fresh-Roasted
Smell of Success How Starbucks has become part of American culture," The Wall
Street Journal, November 7, 2007 ---
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010831
This pacifistic stance appeals to the left wing of
the democratic electorate, which may have some influence on the outcome of
democratic primaries, but which is far less likely to determine the outcome of
the general election. Most Americans -- Democrats, Republicans, independents or
undecided -- want a president who will be strong, as well as smart, on national
security, and who will do everything in his or her lawful power to prevent
further acts of terrorism. Hundreds of thousands of Americans may watch Michael
Moore's movies or cheer Cindy Sheehan's demonstrations, but tens of millions
want the Moores and Sheehans of our nation as far away as possible from
influencing national security policy. That is why Rudy Giuliani seems to be
doing surprisingly well among many segments of the electorate, ranging from
centrist Democrats to Republicans and even some on the religious right.
Alan Dershowitz, "Democrats and Waterboarding," The Wall Street Journal,
November 7, 2007; Page A23 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119439827396084663.html
Jensen Comment
When I spent a year in a think
tank with Alan, he was a Jewish Democrat.
"The Path of Respectful Engagement," by Pat Hostetter Martin, Inside Higher
Ed, November 9, 2007 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/11/09/martin
To be sure, there are
numerous issues between Iran and the United States that
deserve very serious scrutiny. No one is served by naiveté
or ignoring those concerns. One of our Indonesian Muslim
students raised concerns about Mennonites interacting with
Iranian officials in this e-mail message to me:
“I’m writing this
e-mail just to ‘remind’ the Mennonites to be careful in
building networks and relationships with the Iranian
government. Who takes benefit from this ‘peacebuilding
project’: Iranians, Mennonites, Muslims, the United
States? I am afraid there is a ‘hidden agenda’ behind
the meeting.
“They just use the
Mennonites to send their ‘peaceful message’ to the
American public, while at the same time they produce
uranium, discriminate against non-Shi’ite communities
and non-Muslims, massacre members of the Baha’i faith,
and so on and so forth.
“Last, but not
least, hopefully what I was thinking does not happen.
Hopefully, by the Mennonites’ intervention, justice and
peace will greet Iran, like in the Harrison Ford movie
‘Witness.’”
We in the peacebuilding
field cannot know whether eventually “justice and peace will
greet Iran,” just as we cannot know whether eventually the
United States will choose the path of equitable peace in the
world instead of military and economic dominance. But we are
certain that to transform conflict and lay the groundwork
for a better future, one must treat others the way – yes, to
borrow from our holy book (but not the only book to say
this) – one would want to be treated. In our conflict
transformation program, we teach our students to move toward
differences of opinion without fear, dealing with it
open-heartedly, rather than trying to suppress or avoid
conflict. Iran’s president undoubtedly has his own agenda
for promoting exchanges with American colleges and
academics, but our agenda is to promote respectful talking
and listening, knowing that none of us has a corner on the
truth and that each of us views matters through a particular
lens. The more effort we make to peer through the lens of
the “other,” the less likely we will end up in violent
conflict.
Seeking to “practice what
I preach,” I was one of about 120 people from a dozen
religious groups and institutions who met with Ahmadinejad
two days after his speech at Columbia University. Requested
by Iranian officials, the meeting was organized by the
relief and service agencies of the Mennonites and Quakers,
but included Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Christian
university leaders, and many others.
During the two-hour
session, Ahmadinejad addressed the audience for 20 minutes.
Five panel members, selected for their range of
perspectives, responded to his speech and asked their own
questions. The dialogue covered the differences many of us
have with Ahmadinejad, but it was conducted with respect and
civility on all sides.
I believe this model
is a better one for encouraging positive change – on both
sides – than verbal attacks. I agree with
the petition circulated by Columbia students,
which was signed by 660 people online
as of this week, in which the petitioners expressed distress
that “inflammatory words were delivered at a time when
dialogue with Iran is of the utmost importance in an effort
to forestall war.”
One petitioner who
identified herself as Alena, class of 2009, in the School of
International and Public Affairs at Columbia, wrote: “As
someone who grew up in the U.S. State Department world, I
was often exposed to how difficult it was for my father to
dialogue with leaders with whom he deeply disagreed.
However, it was always his imperative to treat others with
human dignity and respect and that U.S. Foreign Policy is
best served by always having a platform for dialogue. There
is always room for decorum and respect – even if you are
faced with your worst enemy.”
We in the academic world
must always be open to dialogue, which means respectfully
listening as well as frankly speaking in a civil manner. I
often disagree with positions that President Bush takes, but
I would never presume to change his views and behavior
through refusing to speak to him or insulting him.
Instead of limiting our
choices to, on one hand, treating Ahmadinejad hatefully or,
on the other hand, inviting him to speak without rebuttal in
the interests of academic freedom, we advocate a third way:
respectful, but active, engagement with those with whom one
disagrees. This is what Martin Luther King did and wrote
about in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” It’s what
Gandhi did in India with the British. And it is what Nelson
Mandela did with the leaders of the South African regime
that jailed him for 27 years.
We advocate this third way
both for intellectual and spiritual growth, as well as for
combating injustice and achieving peace. Nothing is ever
gained by pouring fuel onto a simmering fire.
A 13-year-old junior high school student was given
two days of detention after school officials spotted her hugging friends after
school last Friday. Megan Coulter, an eighth-grade student at Mascoutah Middle
School, was hugging her friends goodbye after school Friday when vice principal,
Randy Blakely, saw her and told her she would receive two after-school
detentions. Blakely had previously warned Coulter that she was in violation of
the school's policy on public displays of affection after she was seen hugging a
student at a football game. The school's policy says that "displays of affection
should not occur on the campus at any time."
Mascoutah Middle School, November 8,
2007 ---
http://mascoutah.il.schoolwebpages.com/education/school/school.php?sectionid=5871
Jensen Comment
I found it amusing that this school also bills itself as the "Home of the
Braves."
Can these children bravely hug each other in church?
In California male and female school children can share the same bathrooms and
locker rooms. The California law permits hugging or other displays of affection.
NCLB = No Child Left Behind Law
A September 2007 Thomas B. Fordham Institute report
found NCLB's assessment system "slipshod" and characterized by "standards that
are discrepant state to state, subject to subject, and grade to grade." For
example, third graders scoring at the sixth percentile on Colorado's state
reading test are rated proficient. In South Carolina the third grade proficiency
cut-off is the sixtieth percentile.
Peter Berger, "Some Will Be Left
Behind," The Irascible Professor, November 10, 2007 ---
http://irascibleprofessor.com/comments-11-10-07.htm
Have schools in the U.K. stopped teaching about Holocaust?
Mixed Answer: See
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/holocaust.asp
The war being waged by the quasi-establishment and
quasi-government Left in Britain against the nation's own traditions, values,
identity and, perhaps most of all, religion, has been escalated and its
battle-lines redefined with a report by a leading Labour Party-aligned
think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, recommending that
Christmas, which cannot be obliterated, should be down-graded to promote
multiculturalism. Now, the Institute is not some unimportant relic of communist
days clinging to existence in a squalid slum attic. On the contrary, it has very
close links with the government. The report was commissioned when Nick Pearce,
now head of public policy in the Prime Minister's Office, was its director. He
was described in an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Commission's
"Sunday Profile" recently as "One of the leading policy-makers in Great
Britain." . . . The same day that news of the report leaked out, there was
news of another pedagogical flowering of multicultural understanding: a school
had compelled teachers dress up as Asians for a day to celebrate a Muslim
festival. Children at the school were also told to don Muslim garb even though
most are Christians. . . The report also proposes an end to "sectarian"
religious education -- it is hard to know what this means, or whether it is
proposed to go as far as actually banning Christian schools, but it seems likely
that it at least means that government support for religious schools would be
banned (despite the fact that, apart from anything else, many religious schools
provide a far better, and now physically safer, education than many of Britain's
ghastly sink-comprehensives).
Hal G.P. Colebatch, "Britain's
Escalating War on Christianity," The American Spectator, November 8, 2007
---
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=12285
Jensen Comment
Since Christian children and teachers were required to "don Muslim garb" to
"celebrate a Muslim festival," it would seem counterbalancing to require Muslim
children to wear crosses on Good Friday. That would be a fearsome requirement
that, I'm certain, will never happen since there are so many militant extremists
in the United Kingdom.
(Meanwhile)
Tony Blair will convert to Roman Catholicism within weeks when he is received
into the church by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac
Murphy-O'Connor, according to the Catholic magazine the Tablet.There has been
speculation for months that the former prime minister would be received into the
church following his resignation from office. A report by the magazine's editor,
Catherine Pepinster, says the ceremony will take place during a private mass in
the cardinal's official residence behind Westminster Cathedral in Victoria,
London.Mr Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy, was baptised as an Anglican but
has been known to be interested...
Stephen Bates, Guardian, November 9, 2007 ---
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/tonyblair/story/0,,2208165,00.html
The University of Maine is backtracking on a
classroom teacher's suggestion that students would get extra credit for burning
a flag, or a copy of the U.S. Constitution . . . "Leftists seek sanctuary in the
ivory tower of higher education where they can feel free to impose their liberal
moonbattery on hapless college students. The less control they have over the
country, the tighter their grip over academia becomes. And nothing runs more
rampant on college campuses than anti-Americanism." "Perhaps the most telling
quote from Professor Grosswiler was this one: 'If they don't tolerate thought
that they hate, they don't believe in the First Amendment,'" the editorial said.
"So not tolerating a professor asking students to burn the United States flag is
equal to not believing in free speech? Your tax dollars at work, folks."
"University vetoes extra credit for flag-burning,"
WorldNetDaily, November 8, 2007 ---
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58553
Bob Jensen's threads on political correctness and free speech are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#PoliticalCorrectness
The Chinese government announced late Saturday that
it had confirmed the presence of poison on toy beads exported around the world,
while in the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said that
seven more children had been sickened. The Chinese government’s General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine also identified
the factory that manufactured the beads, the Wangqi Product Factory in the
southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen, and said the factory’s export license had
been suspended.
Keith Bradshire, "China Confirms
Poison Was on Toy Beads," The New York Times, November 11, 2007 ---
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/world/asia/11china.html?_r=2&ref=business&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Modern farm bills are really about buying
votes.Perhaps it's beneath the dignity of Members of Congress to shop at a
grocery store, but if they did they'd know that food prices are rising faster
than at anytime in 17 years. Milk now costs $3 a gallon in many states. Eggs,
oranges, peas, tomatoes and rice are selling at or near all-time highs. The
biggest winners have been corn producers, as corn prices have doubled in two
years -- thanks in part to new mandates for ethanol. All of this is translating
into the best gains in farm wealth in decades. Total farm income is expected to
leap by 44% to $73 billion this year, according to the USDA. The average income
of full-time farmers hit $81,420 last year, with large corporate farms earning
in the millions of dollars. Meanwhile, farmland prices in the past five years
have increased by $200 billion a year, or an average asset gain of $100,000 per
year per full-time farmer.
"The No Farmer Left Behind Act,," The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2007;
Page A16 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119500379205092116.html
But controversial they were. Finally, another guest,
a man I had long admired, an incisive thinker and a political moderate, cleared
his throat, and asked if he could interject. I welcomed his intervention,
confident that he would ease the tension by lending his authority in support of
the sole claim that I was defending, namely, that Bush hatred subverted sound
thinking. He cleared his throat for a second time. Then, with all eyes on him,
and measuring every word, he proclaimed, "I . . . hate . . . the . . . way . . .
Bush . . . talks." And so, I told my Princeton audience, in the context of a
Bush hatred and a corollary contempt for conservatism so virulent that it had
addled the minds of many of our leading progressive intellectuals, Prof. Starr
deserved special recognition for keeping his head in his analysis of liberalism
and progressivism. Then I got on with my prepared remarks.
Peter Berkowitz, "The Insanity of
Bush Hatred," The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2007; Page A17
---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119500487725192231.html
Hating the president is almost as old as
the republic itself. The people, or various factions among them, have
indulged in Clinton hatred, Reagan hatred, Nixon hatred, LBJ hatred, FDR
hatred, Lincoln hatred, and John Adams hatred, to mention only the more
extravagant hatreds that we Americans have conceived for our presidents.
But Bush hatred is different. It's not
that this time members of the intellectual class have been swept away by
passion and become votaries of anger and loathing. Alas, intellectuals have
always been prone to employ their learning and fine words to whip up
resentment and demonize the competition. Bush hatred, however, is
distinguished by the pride intellectuals have taken in their hatred, openly
endorsing it as a virtue and enthusiastically proclaiming that their hatred
is not only a rational response to the president and his administration but
a mark of good moral hygiene.
Continued in article
Studs
Terkel, whose
new book Touch and Go: A Memoir
(The New Press) appears just a few months after his 95th
birthday, has often been called an oral historian for his
collections of interviews with “ordinary people,” to use a term
he despises for its implicit condescension. I take it from a
look through JSTOR that some of the oral historians in academe
dispute that label. They have their methods, while Terkel has
his . . . Studs Terkel is one of the greatest products of the
Popular Front era. He shared its yearnings, but transcended its
limitations; for Terkel could hear except that “the people”
have, in fact, many voices. What he took from the history and
the organizations he himself passed through — how he absorbed
influences, and broke with them, and transformed them — merits a
book. It is a story worth telling. But this late in the day,
some other author will probably need to tell it.
Scott McLeMee,
"Talking to Himself, Inside Higher Ed, November 14, 2007
---
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/11/14/mclemee
Last month, the National Academy of Sciences
reported on the impact of ethanol production on water supplies. A University of
Iowa professor chaired the report committee, so Big Corn might have hoped for a
home-court advantage. But NAS reported that, "in some areas of the country,
water resources are already significantly stressed . . . Increased biofuels
production will likely add pressure to the water management challenges the
nation already faces as biofuels drive changing agricultural practices,
increased corn production, and growth in the number of biorefineries." When
ethanol is criticized by scientists at Iowa's two largest state universities,
you have to wonder who is for it.
"Ethanol Backlash,"
The Wall Street Journal, November 12,
2007; Page A16 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119482533176389532.html
"The Health Cost Myth," by John R. Graham, The Wall Street
Journal, November 13, 2007; Page A25 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119492465851790988.html
But what about the share of Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) spent on health care, a metric of health system performance
and value that some consider definitive? The United States leads the pack in
this regard, spending far more on health than other countries. Surely this
puts the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage, doesn't it?
No: It's the other way around. America's
high productivity gives us the ability to spend more on health care,
especially the latest treatments and technologies, than other developed
nations that labor under forms of socialized health care.
Robert L. Ohsfeldt and John R. Schneider
of the American Enterprise Institute have determined that health spending
increases at a constant rate of about 8% for every $1,000 increase in GDP
per capita. For example, if GDP rises from $30,000 per capita to $31,000,
health spending increases by $232. But if GDP per capita rises from $40,000
to $41,000, health spending increases by $500.
Thus, because Americans earn so much more
than people in other countries, it naturally follows that we spend more on
health care.
Consider four countries whose health-care
systems are often held up as admirable alternatives: Canada, Germany, France
and Great Britain. Certainly, the U.S. spends significantly more on health
care than those countries do, but these nations also earn significantly less
income per person.
Look at it this way: Even after paying for
our health care, Americans have far more money left over than their
neighbors to spend on other goods and services. It works out to about $8,000
more than the average German or Frenchman, and about $4,000 more than the
average Canadian or Briton.
Of course, averages obscure many harsh
realities and hide the fact that many Americans are unable to afford health
care.
To improve the state of American health
care and lighten the burden on business and workers, policy leaders should
push for portability of health benefits, transparent pricing for health
services, tort reform and more competition among both insurers and
providers.
Crusaders for "universal" health care
allege that America's unique lack of government-mandated coverage is a
handicap to the nation's competitiveness. Given America's superior economic
performance, however, it is a uniqueness we should not rush to abandon.
VIDEO -- Now Playing on WSJ.com Al-Zawahiri's Version of Islam Editorial page
writer Bret Stephens speaks to Dr. Tawfik Hamid, an Islamic scholar, about his
experience with Ayman al-Zawahiri, an influential al-Qaeda leader.
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/8_0004.html?bcpid=86195573&bclid=212338097&bctid=1305005070
Scholarship in the Digital Age:
An Interview With Christine Borgman
It’s hard to meet academics these days
whose work hasn’t been changed by the Internet. But even if
everyone knows that the world of scholarship has changed, it’s
not always clear just how or the way those evolutions fit into
the broad history of scholarship. Christine L. Borgman sets out
to do just that in
Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure
and the Internet, just
published by MIT Press. Borgman, a presidential chair in
information studies at the University of California at Los
Angeles, responded to e-mail questions about her book.
Scott Jaschik, "‘Scholarship in the Digital Age’,"Inside
Higher Ed, November 14, 2007 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/14/borgman
One learning
child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.
The mission of
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of
developing countries to learn by providing one connected
laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our
goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and
want to help make education for the world’s children a
priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November
26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the
United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate
the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing
nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in
recognition of your contribution ---
http://www.laptopgiving.org/
This link was forwarded by Aaron Konstam
November 12, 2007 reply from Aaron Delwiche
[aaron.delwiche@trinity.edu]
Regarding a comment that developing nation children want desperately to get into
MySpace and Facebook.
The opportunity to participate in social networking
environments such as MySpace and Facebook is important for people who are
otherwise excluded from participation in the global information economy. We
laugh about these social networking sites -- often because of the funny and
silly things that people use them for -- but on-line social networks are
tangible manifestations of privilege and connectedness. Currently, these
networks function as exclusionary "lunch counters" at which only certain
types of people are allowed to take a seat.
Initiatives like the $100 laptop are not a miracle
solution, but they at least make it possible for a new generation of youth
to start plugging into conversational networks from which they were formerly
excluded. So, yes, exactly. We should support the laptop giving program
mentioned by Aaron K. because there just aren't enough children from
developing nations on MySpace. :)
Aaron
One learning
child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.
The mission of
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of
developing countries to learn by providing one connected
laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our
goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and
want to help make education for the world’s children a
priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November
26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the
United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate
the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing
nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in
recognition of your contribution ---
http://www.laptopgiving.org/
This link was forwarded by Aaron Konstam
November 12, 2007 reply from Aaron Delwiche
[aaron.delwiche@trinity.edu]
Regarding a comment that developing nation children want desperately to get into
MySpace and Facebook.
The opportunity to participate in social networking
environments such as MySpace and Facebook is important for people who are
otherwise excluded from participation in the global information economy. We
laugh about these social networking sites -- often because of the funny and
silly things that people use them for -- but on-line social networks are
tangible manifestations of privilege and connectedness. Currently, these
networks function as exclusionary "lunch counters" at which only certain
types of people are allowed to take a seat.
Initiatives like the $100 laptop are not a miracle
solution, but they at least make it possible for a new generation of youth
to start plugging into conversational networks from which they were formerly
excluded. So, yes, exactly. We should support the laptop giving program
mentioned by Aaron K. because there just aren't enough children from
developing nations on MySpace. :)
Aaron
November 14, 2007 reply from Bob Jensen
The easiest way for your
children to learn about money is for you not to have any.
Katharine Whitehorn
Possibly the easiest way to make children to want to learn is not to
have any scholarly education opportunity whatsoever.
Certainly education and
worldwide communications can be a bad thing for preserving ancient cultures
and isolated religions/superstitions. But people who do go deep into Africa
or other parts of the world discover that there is usually tremendous
enthusiasm for learning --- sometimes learning anything. This makes isolated
tribes extremely vulnerable to biased and/or incompetent teachers and
learning materials.
In fact computers may
be a way of overcoming questionable teaching such as teaching from overly
zealous missionaries who are strong on doctrine and shallow on scholarship.
Certainly there
are risks of bad scholarship such as when any person goes to Wikipedia. But
there is a tremendous amount of great scholarship available in Wikipedia and
other scholarly databases accessed via computers.
Knowledge wants
to be shared and will find cracks in the barrier walls of any type in
society. The MIT experiment (along with the ensuing effort by Intel) to open
these cracks a bit wider with cheap computers will have a whole lot of
direct and indirect (i.e., externalities) that are good and bad. As
educators we know we have to take chances, even those of us who frequently
go to Wikipedia.
*******************************************
BH: My last question :
How would you define the ideal digital society in a few words?
MJ: Equality of communication. Equality of information. Environmentally
sustainable design. Low cost and high quality. Technology guided by the
needs of people and not by trade and governments. Finally education
technologies should be accessible to all.
Interview
with Mary Joyce by Ben Heine ---
http://snipurl.com/mjdigitalsociety
Bob
Jensen
Electronic Wall Street Journal Will Soon Be Free
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said Tuesday he
intends to make access to The Wall Street Journal's Web site free, dropping
subscription fees in exchange for anticipated ad revenue. "We are studying it
and we expect to make that free, and instead of having 1 million (subscribers),
having at least 10 million to 15 million in every corner of the earth," Murdoch
said. News Corp. has agreed to acquire Dow Jones & Co. for about $5 billion, and
the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. A special shareholders
meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 in New York.
PhysOrg, November 13, 2007 ---
http://physorg.com/news114174612.html
Question
How can you cut the cost of your students' textbooks in half and customize them
for your own course at the same time?
On
Wednesday, the Arizona community college announced a partnership
with Pearson Custom Publishing to allow Rio Salado professors to
piece together single individualized textbooks from multiple
sources. The result, in what could be the first institution-wide
initiative of its kind, will be a savings to students of up to
50 percent, the college estimates, as well as a savings of time
to faculty, who often find themselves revising course materials
to keep pace with continuously updated editions.
Andy Guess, Inside Higher Ed, November 15, 2007 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/15/textbooks
Question 1
What's "time dialation?"
Hint: It's based on Einstein's theory of relativity?
Question 2
Is John Travolta
ceteris paribus getting better financing or worse financing deals than
John Madden (football commentator who refuses to fly)?
Answer --- See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dialation
"It's a century late, but Einstein's still right on time," PhysOrg,
November 12, 2007 ---
http://physorg.com/news114010680.html
"After two hours, I looked at my watch," a reviewer
of Wagnerian opera is said to have written. "I found that 17 minutes had
gone by."
In 1905, Albert Einstein wrote his own treatise on
the relativity of time, famously theorising that time speeds up or slows
down according to how fast an object is moving in relation to another
object.
Thus, according to his hypothesis, a clock which is
in motion ticks more slowly than an identical clock which is at rest -- a
phenomenon that Einstein called time dilation.
In a study published on Sunday, the most accurate
experiment yet into time dilation has proven the great German physicist to
be bang on target.
An international team of researchers used a
particle accelerator to whizz two beams of atoms around a doughnut-shaped
course to represent Einstein's faster-moving clocks.
They then timed the beams using high-precision
laser spectroscopy and found that, compared with the outside world, time for
these atomic travellers did indeed slow down.
"We were able to determine the effect more
precisely than ever before," said lead researcher Gerald Gwinner of the
University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.
"We found the observed effect to be in complete
agreement."
The experiments, said Gwinner, confirm the
technology aboard US military satellites that provide the signals for the
Global Positioning System (GPS) -- the "satnav" network that is used as a
navigational aid around the world.
Continued in article
Jensen Comment
By extrapolation, we can then assume that some interest rates contractually
states at, say, 11.368% per annum really vary for fast moving investors compared
with stick-in-the-muds. Question 2 Is John Travolta ceteris paribus getting
better financing or worse financing deals than John Madden (football commentator
who refuses to fly)?
Hint:
Time moves somewhat slower for high flying John Travolta (a pilot).
It would seem that airline crews are getting a heck of a deal on their
mortgages!
Dental School Alleged Cheating at Loma Linda University, New York
University, and UCLA
The American Dental Association is investigating
allegations of possible cheating by students at four dental schools on an exam
that leads to licensure for dentists, the
Los Angeles Times reported. The probe
involves students at Loma Linda University, New York University, the University
of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.
Inside Higher Ed, November 14, 2007 ---
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/14/qt
Bob Jensen's threads on cheating are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm
Buzzword Bingo
Before reading this module, read about Buzzword Bingo at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzword_bingo
David Albrecht pointed out that the testimonials at this Wikipedia site are
hilarious!
From the Unknown Professor of finance who writes the Financial Rounds
Blog (October 8, 2007 ) ---
http://financialrounds.blogspot.com/
A
while back, I came across the game called "Buzzword
Bingo." For those who aren't
familiar with it, in the game of BB you get a Bingo card
filled with common business buzzwords. You take it to a
meeting, and when you hear an overused buzzword, you
mark it off on the card. That way, what had been an
irritating, overused phrase becomes something you get
excited hearing.
I'm convinced there's a niche market for an academic
version of BuzzWord Bingo that can be played at faculty
meetings (particularly in committee meetings). Here's a
sampling of things I'd put in the various squares:
- A
senior faculty member brings up the same sore point
that he's been harping on for the last 10 years. It
has nothing to do with the issue at hand.
- A
spirited discussion breaks out about
changing ONE word on a document
that (at most) two people will ever read. The
discussion goes around and around for an hour or
more.
-
The word "Rubric" (our new
word
du
jour) is used. And I always thought Rubric
was the character Steve Martin Played in
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
-
Someone (usually the guy in #1) complains about how
things have changed (i.e. students are so much
worse, they used to have a 5/5/ load, it was
much harder to publish in top journals, etc...)
since they they were starting out.
Any
suggestions for other entries? I'll add them in as they
come (with credit, of course).
These were added later on.
-
Don't forget the ever-exciting
"Let me give a little
institutional background" guy.
He is worth 20
dead minutes in every gathering.
(also from Cynical Prof)
-
Someone frets about how any
disagreement will reflect badly
upon the program / department /
institution's
'mission. Bonus points for being
in a very secular setting or
campus while muttering about the
same. (HT: Ancarett)
-
The tired old hand who tells
everyone that whatever's decided
doesn't matter because nobody
has any real power here, anyway.
(HT: Ancarett)
-
#s 11-16 are complimnets of Mike
Munger:
When I was at [name of previous
job university], we
always....[what they did].
-
I hear that
in [name of department], they
just got [n new positions, a
budget increase, new space]. Why
don't you get that for US?
-
The "snatch defeat from the jaws
of victory" guy. Committee chair
reads proposal, clear that
everyone agrees, if you voted
now. But the Snatcher prepared a
talk, and by golly he's going to
give it. Starts by talking about
how 25 years ago he proposed
something like this (not MUCH
like it, though), and was turned
down. So, it's really time that
anyone opposed then explains how
they could have been so stupid.
7 or 8 people raise hands to
respond. Vote is finally taken,
an hour later, and it's 15-9.
The 9 people, who were ready to
support the proposal, end up
sabotaging it because they are
so angry at the Snatcher. After
meeting, Snatcher congratulates
self on "victory", since vote
was positive.
-
The by-laws guy. Either we are
doing something not in the
by-laws, or the by-laws need to
be revised to reflect what we
are doing.
-
They guy who starts out with,
"I'm going to support this,
but..." and then runs down the
proposal, or candidate, for ten
minutes. Finishes with, "But I'm
going to go along, and vote
yes."
-
The Dean's mouthpiece. "I don't
think the Dean is going to like
that. We need to think
strategically!" This same person
is perhaps the least strategic,
and most politically inept,
person in department.
-
#s 17 & 18 are from Mike Barry:
At our faculty meetings, there's
always at least one blatant
suckup. The dean will start the
meeting
off and the suckup will loudly
thank the dean for all of his
support (in something that made
the suckup's job easier).
-
We also have a social issues
person. We could be talking
about something like upgrade
cycles for our computers and
she'll somehow try to weave in a
socially responsible angle.
There are always a few faculty
who, as soon as their hands go
up, the rest of us groan. Of
course, we have students like
that!
-
David Tufte contributed #s
19-23: The guy who insists that
everything has an ethical angle
that is in conflict with how we
should present ourselves to
stakeholders.
-
The person who is secretary or
otherwise in charge of documents
who doesn't seem to be able to
use Word, PDF or e-mail properly
(usually you see this one on
campus-wide committees
-
The person who makes copies for
the committee, but never makes
enough - as if they had to type
them all by hand.
-
The former administrator who
views the committee as a forum
to perpetuate the views and
continue the actions that got
his butt booted out of the
previous position.
-
The student representative who
never shows up for meetings.
-
#s 24-25 are compliments of
David Hammes: There's the "Oh,
so what you're saying " or "Let
me see if I understand you" guy
who restates everyone's previous
comments (oft times
incorrectly), thereby dragging
the meeting out even longer.
-
The guy
who "debates" himself out loud,
changing his position with every
comment he makes (kind of like
Colin "Bomber" Harris
November 7, 2007 reply from Bob Jensen (you can add comments directly to
entries in the Financial Rounds blog).
- "A senior faculty member brings up the
same sore point that he's been harping on for the last 10 years. It has
nothing to do with the issue at hand."
Never rise to speak till you have something to
say; and when you have said it, cease.
Witherspoon
Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
Jack Nicholson, As Good As it Gets
If novelty was the essential ingredient of modern art, then repetition
is the hallmark of postmodern craft.
Joel Achenbach
Don't confuse arrogance with chronic
correctness.
Steve Williams
Ben, I threw food at you to make you shut up.
It hasn't worked. If you don't shut up, I want my food back.
Dale Newfield
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no
one thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoy
- "A spirited discussion breaks out about changing ONE word on a
document that (at most) two people will ever read. The discussion goes
around and around for an hour or more."
There's no sense in being precise when you
don't even know what you're talking about.
John Von Neumann
Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing.
Mark Twain
The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow
words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways
to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.
James Nicoll
Don't pay attention to a word the press says (or a committee
writes). Wrap yesterday's fish in whatever they
say tomorrow.
Jack Welch
I think you should rework that statement.
A much more useful version is: "From now on, anyone gets smacked.
Kristiina Wilson
- "Someone (usually the guy in #1) complains about how things have
changed (i.e. students are so much worse, they used to have a 5/5/ load,
it was much harder to publish in top journals, etc...) since they they
were starting out."
I found myself making pissy comments about all
their pissy comments. It was pretty dumb.
Kristiina Wilson
I'd like to make a motion that we face reality.
Bob Newhart
Get your facts first, then you can distort them
as you please.
Mark Twain
The very ink with which all history is written
is merely fluid prejudice.
Mark Twain
- If you say Rubric again I'm going to puke.
Dave Winer
- Here we have a game (read that
Committee) that combines the charm of a
Pentagon briefing with the excitement of double- entry bookkeeping.
Cecil Adams
- If you can't convince them, confuse them.
Harry S. Truman
- We hang the petty thieves and appoint the
great ones to public office (and faculty committees).
Aesop
- I'm the misfit of the committee, and I
think they need me like a beauty pageant needs a Nosferatu.
Jordan Wolbrum
- The confusion of a committee member is
measured by the length of his memos.
New York Times, January 20, 1981
- Haven't you heard our committee motto -
'United we sort of come apart at the seams, but Welded we stick together
pretty well' ? -
tabron@brandeis.bitnet
- Academics get paid for being clever, not
for being right.
Donald Norman
- The woman of my dreams makes a motion to
adjourn.
Doug Tygar
November 8, 2008 reply from Unknown Professor
[unknownprofessor@hotmail.com]
Bob:
Thanks for putting it out there. I think there;'s a
merket for this. At least it'll make faculty meeting more interesting.
The Unknown Professor
http://financialrounds.blogspot.com
"Back away slowly from the article with your hands up
and your mind open, and with luck nobody gets hurt"
November 8, 2007 reply from David Fordham, James Madison University
[fordhadr@JMU.EDU]
Bob, you can easily adapt a version of buzzword
bingo for application to faculty meetings. I combined ideas from several
folks and put one together way back in 2003. It is, of course, appropriately
named "BS Bingo". It can be found at:
http://cob.jmu.edu/fordham/bsbingo2.htm
Enjoy.
David Fordham
James Madison University
November 8, 2007 reply from Ed Scribner [escribne@NMSU.EDU]
Bob,
The Unknown Professor
of Finance may not realize there have been versions of
academic buzzword bingo
on the web for some ten
years. Some do not use a
word
as kind and acceptable as “Bingo.” For faculty meetings here we simply
update the cards for new buzzwords as they come along.
David,
Now that I see the one you put
together, I realize that's the one we've been using!!! I had forgotten
about that.
Ed
New Mexico State University
Question
How can your cell phone receive calls from other telephones in your household
and vice versa?
"Extending Cellphones' Reach With VTech System, Calls Are Channeled To Home
Handset," Katherine Boehret, The Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2007;
Page D8 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119439465387884550.html
It's fair to say that cellphones can induce
laziness. They enable effortless directory assistance, mobile Web access and
the ever-important luxury of calling someone in the next room so you don't
need to get up. But this laziness can be reversed in an instant: Just
misplace your cellphone at home, hear it ring and note how quickly you move
-- running, climbing stairs or flipping couch cushions -- to find the phone
before a caller hangs up.
VTech Communications wants to put an end to this
mad phone dash with its new $150 Expandable Cordless Phone System with
Bluetooth, the LS5145. This device synchronizes with your cellphone and
redirects incoming cell calls to ring wherever the VTech phones are placed
in the house. It works with your landline and up to two Bluetooth-linked
cellphones, and can be expanded using additional handsets that cost $80
each.
. . .
Bluetooth technology isn't incapable of
transmitting data: My BlackBerry Curve even tried to transfer its contacts
to the 5145, but couldn't. VTech chose to use headset Bluetooth
synchronization on the 5145 rather than hands-free synchronization.
Hands-free is the same technology used in most Bluetooth-equipped cars; it
provides more access to the Bluetooth device, such as phone-book
integration.
I also missed other features on my cellphone when
it wasn't by my side, such as text messaging and voice mail. Incoming text
messages were sent to my cellphone unbeknownst to me since I wasn't near it,
and when I didn't answer incoming calls through the VTech, I had no way of
knowing if the caller left a voice mail on my cellphone.
The 5145 includes a base station and primary phone;
the 5105 additional handset includes a small stand just big enough to hold
it upright. I set up the base station near where I drop my work bag after
coming home each night. After the initial pairing during setup, phones
automatically link to the VTech, meaning I never had to take my cellphone
out of my bag.
Continued in article
Certificates for Distance Education Teachers and Related Matters on
Asynchronous Learning
November 10, 2007 message from Denise Nitterhouse (Condor)
[dnitterh@CONDOR.DEPAUL.EDU]
Has anyone taken an excellent online Certificate
program you can recommend for learning how to design, develop and teach
asynchronous online Accounting, MIS and other business courses? I prefer a
time-structured course with a lot of peer as well as instructor interaction
(not a self-paced one where interaction is primarily with an instructor or
TA).
After hours of searching & reading, I found the
alternatives overwhelming, and quality impossible to determine, so I'm
turning to you for personal experiences & recommendations. Reply either to
the list or to me individually, as you think most appropriate. Thanks!!
Denise Nitterhouse, MBA, DBASchool of Accountancy &
Management Information Systems
DePaul University
dnitterh@condor.depaul.edu
http://condor.depaul.edu/~dnitterh/
November 10. 2007 reply from Bob Jensen
Hi Denise,
In the beginning God created distance education without specifying that
distance education has to eliminate synchronous learning. My best example of
this is a distance education course on international accounting designed and
delivered by Sharon Lightner at San Diego State University. Students met at
the same time in six (sometimes five) nations at the same time and could
see/hear each other as well as their instructors and invited
standard-setting experts also present in the widely separated classrooms.
You can read more about Sharon's herculean effort at
C:\Webjen\000aaa\lightner\255light.htm
Since the invention of the Web in 1989, major universities have been
putting masters and doctoral programs into place in the discipline of
education technology. I suspect Depaul probably offers such degree programs,
and most certainly these are available at the University of Illinois.
One of my best examples of a very serious comparison of asynchronous and
synchronous learning in controlled experimentation was the generously-funded
SCALE program at the University of Illinois ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/255wp.htm#Illinois
Dan Stone (when he was still at Illinois) put together a CPE workshop module
for me some years back for an American Accounting Association annual
meeting. Dan has since moved to the University of Kentucky ---
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/000cpe/00start.htm
Having said this, we know that in practice over 99% of the distance
education training and education courses do eliminate most of the
traditional synchronized learning components.
First I will discuss your question about "certificates." Actually you may
be more interested in online teaching certificates or e-learning
certificates since "certificates" worth their salt in "asynchronous
learning" per se are probably few and far between. I would begin your
investigation with the Sloan-C site ---
http://www.aln.org/workshop/index.asp
Take
advantage of incredible savings on workshops by becoming a
Sloan-C
College Pass
Member.
By becoming a
Sloan-C
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member, you can enroll your faculty and
staff in 2007 Sloan-C workshops for less than the price of a book!
College Pass is a cost effective way to give your staff and
faculty access to the full range of Sloan-C online workshops.
Sloan-C Online
Teaching Certificate Now Available
After considerable
development, Sloan-C is announcing the
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Sloan-C 2007 Online Workshop Listing
Following is a
preliminary list of planned workshops for 2007. These plans are
tentative and subject to change, there are also many workshops currently
in the process of being added to this list. The majority of Sloan-C
workshops, including workshops that are not yet listed here, are planned
to be offered in the Sloan-C College Pass™, however we reserve the right
to produce workshops for special purposes that are not included. For
workshops not included in the College Pass, we will note in the workshop
description when the workshops are listed on the home workshop page.
Sloan-C College Pass™ does not cover additional fees that might apply
with Sloan-C Certificates or Certification.
Jensen Comment
However, in general I view "certificates" as far less important than
narrowing that part of asynchronous learning that you want to study.
Alternatives range from learning theory itself to assessment theory to
techie/geek distance education software and hardware.
As you indicate, it's pretty easy to be overwhelmed by distance education
topics alone. Note that distance education, like on-campus traditional
courses, is heavily asynchronous (such as when students learn from a
textbook as well as attend lectures). Even when synchronous lectures and
case analysis classes are replaced by asynchronous alternatives, there may
be synchronous components such as chat rooms and Meebo. You can learn more
about these alternatives at the following sites:
If you're looking for veterans who've taught
accounting asynchronously for years (even for resident on campus students)
with amazing enthusiasm, skill, and bootstrapping innovation I recommend
Tony Catanach (financial and managerial) from Villanova, Amy Dunbar (tax)
from the University of Connecticut, and Norm Nemrow (basic accounting) from
Brigham Young University. If you want a great veteran of with experience in
designing, funding, tweaking, administering, and delivering a complete
asynchronous distance education masters program, there's probably none
better than Don Carter who instigated the
Chartered Accountancy School
of Business for all of Western Canada. Last year Don won the Chartered
Accountants Outstanding Educator Award. All these outstanding teachers have
become experts on asynchronous learning, because they've bootstrapped
themselves up from the bloody trenches. Don faced, and still faces many
skeptics of the luddite variety, but this CASB venture into asychronous
learning has been successful. The primary complaint is that it's too tough.
Case closed!
Note in particular the Sloan-C link ---
http://www.aln.org/
Our Mission:
The purpose of the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) is to help learning
organizations continually improve quality, scale, and breadth of their
online programs, according to their own distinctive missions, so that
education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable
for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines.
Created with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, Sloan-C encourages the collaborative sharing of knowledge
and effective practices to improve online education in learning
effectiveness, access, affordability for learners and providers, and
student and faculty satisfaction.
Find out more…
Academic Continuity –
New Website:
Visit Sloan-C’s
academic continuity website and view a report
on a recent workshop focused on the issue of academic continuity and
emergency management.
Join Sloan-C:
Sloan-C provides two levels of membership; the
Sloan-C Free
Membership provides access to
web-based resources along with discounts on workshops and publications.
The Sloan-C
Premium Membership provides even
greater access to the newest thinking in online learning.
Now if you want to learn more about the techie/geek side of things, you
probably want to study software alternatives for comparative advantages and
disadvantages.
e-Learning ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web-based_training#E-Learning_2.0
e-learning software platforms
Below is a list of some of
the e-learning platforms that are available.
Open Source
Open-source Virtual
Learning Environments (VLE)
Open-source Multi-User
Virtual Environments (Muve)
Commercial
See also