Reading in a Participatory Culture

Reblogged from Designer Librarian:

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Earlier this week, an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education caught my eye: Students May Be Reading Plenty, but Not for Class

Turns out, a new study found students are reading a lot more than we thought. But, 40% of that reading is done on social media (and often during class).

Of course, some might argue that social media is not "real" reading.

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A set of suggestions on how to meet people where they are.

Who Won The Argument? II

Reblogged from The Dish:

The arguments today (pdf) were, for the first fifty minutes, way above my pay-grade, but helpfully elucidated below. But the question of the relationship between the federal government and state governments in the definition of civil marriage is a vital one. Can these two be separated? Which one defers to the other? And why?

The core argument in defense of DOMA is that the federal government needs uniformity.

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Today is Dish day, I guess. Go to the full article for some highlights on the arguments on the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This seems like a clear cut case of federalism to me. The feds should honor any valid marriage license from any state. Period. Or we need a constitutional amendment explicitly making the regulation of marriage a federal power. Not that I want the second, but at least that would give the feds the authority they have falsely (in my view) claimed with DOMA.

Who Won The Argument?

Reblogged from The Dish:

As we know, it's foolish to predict a decision based on oral arguments (pdf). So I won't. But since I've been arguing this question most of my adult life, I figured it would make sense to see who I think got the better of the case. Some of the issues are beyond my skill-set: I'm not qualified to answer on the somewhat esoteric issue of standing - except that it is clearly at issue here and may give a deadlocked court a way out.

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A summary of some of the oral arguments in the Prop 8 case before the Supreme Court.

Sexism In Silicon Valley

Reblogged from The Dish:

Google software engineer Julie Pagano describes the "death by 1000 paper cuts" that comes from being a woman in the tech industry:

The cuts started early. I’m discouraged and humiliated in math classes throughout my school years to the point where I still get anxious doing math in front of others despite being good at it in private.  A high school teacher tells me that I shouldn’t go to college for engineering, but instead something nurturing (you know, what women are good for). 

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Letting denial of service attack push you into firing people is probably not the best way to keep your business free of outside influence.

Release The Assassination Memos

Reblogged from The Dish:

I think my patience broke with the revelation that the Obama administration was more willing to give Butters some bullshit info on Benghazi than to give any ground on releasing the full, complete, original memos used to justify the assassination of Americans who have joined the Jihadist enemy. The cynicism was staggering. Those of us who supported Obama need to express our disgust and anger at this - especially those of us who have defended the drone program as, within key judicial and congressional constraints, sometimes the least worst option in keeping us safe.

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It's the least he can do. But I'm not holding my breath. These days at the hands of the President and both parties in Congress, I feel more like a subject than a citizen when it comes to national policy.

Alaska Legislature App – Know it and use it

If you follow the Alaska State Legislature and own a smart phone or tablet, I highly recommend downloading “The Alaska Legislature App”:

• iPhone/iPad
• Android Devices

Aside from mobile access to information about legislators, committees and bills, you’ll also get a meeting calendar and links to video streams of meetings in progress. You can also access documents related to a particular bill (letters of support, reports, sponsor statements, etc) plus get archived audio of past committee meetings. Seems like it would be great for anyone on the go.

If you don’t live in Alaska, there still might be a legislative app for you. Check out this list of legislative mobile apps and web sites from the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Gentle comments reminder. I work for the State of Alaska and do not publicly comment on state politics. Therefore, any comments of a state political nature will be disappeared. Any comments or questions about the app itself are warmly welcomed. 

New blog for library stuff

I have started a new blog to focus on issues in libraries and librarianship. It’s called Daniel, A librarian in Alaska and can be found at danielcornwall.tumblr.com.