Uncategorized | Alaskan Librarian

Reading in a Participatory Culture

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

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.

Who Won The Argument? II

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

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.

Who Won The Argument?

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

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.

Sexism In Silicon Valley

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

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).

Release The Assassination Memos

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

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.

The Saddest Map In America

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

Reblogged from The Dish:

Yep, there it is: the result of a scholarly study by Dorothy Gambrell of the "missed connections" section of Craigslist. This is where you thought you saw your future spouse or date or hook-up, state by state. It is, in some ways, a sign of where we are now most likely to see people we don't know in various parts of the country.

Presenting Well

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

Reblogged from Geeky Artist Librarian:

We've all sat through tedious presentations with text-heavy slides and a monotone, stagnant speaker. How do you keep from becoming that speaker yourself? Here are my personal strategies for presenting well.

Writing the Presentation Proposal
Creating the Slideshow (or not)
Speaker Notes
Presenting (The Speaking Bit)
After the Presentation
Related Posts

Writing the Presentation Proposal

Proposals are typically short, limiting you to 100, 250, or 500 words.

Live Chat: Galactic Rings, Secular Evolution and The Good Old Days

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

Reblogged from Galaxy Zoo:

It's amazing what happens when you actually publicize your live chat in advance. We got so many questions, we decided to spend the entire chat just discussing them, and we still didn't finish!

Partly that's because we had a surprise guest appearance from the esteemed Ron Buta, who came in just after we had talked about some of the details covered in his…

The Hierarchy: Still Hiding

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Daniel Cornwall

Reblogged from The Dish:

If you have any illusions that the culture of self-protection, clerical privilege and contempt for the victims of rape have finally disappeared from the Catholic hierarchy, I'm afraid you have to let go of them. The Los Angeles Archdiocese fought for years to prevent full access to their own documents that prove complicity of many in the hierarchy in the rape of hundreds of children.

Have you spotted a zebra today?

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Daniel Cornwall

Reblogged from Snapshot Serengeti:

This video is from my first research trip to Serengeti in 2009. I bet you've already found some photos of zebras at Snapshot Serengeti. Here's what they look like moving. (And yes, it was quite windy; sorry for the noise.)