Education
jwilbanks | November 19, 2008A lot of people have asked me lately about how I compose my presentations, so I figured I might as well address it here, then link back here in future discussions. I'll start with links to four recent talks on my slideshare account. They're all CC-BY licensed PDFs (I can't yet upload them as keynote files).
The first is a talk I gave at Henry Chesbrough's class at the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, on the idea of a commons as the platform for open business models based on services. Then I gave a talk at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information…
drorzel | November 19, 2008I got a bunch of really good comments to yesterday's post about athletes and attitudes toward education. Unfortunately, yesterday was also a stay-at-home-with-SteelyKid day, and she spent a lot of time demanding to be held or otherwise catered to, so I didn't have a chance to respond. I'd like to correct that today by responding to the main threads of argument in those comments.
Taking these in no particular order, Moshe writes:
Not sure there is a serious argument here, athletes are different in so many ways, but I'll bite - here is another difference. Some students and athletes have their…
drorzel | November 17, 2008Regarding the current financial crisis, a consensus has developed that the government needs to do something, and do something dramatic. The argument is, basically, that the normal sources of cash flow that might stimulate the economy out of recession have dried up, either through idiotic investments, or out of fear caused by all the idiotic investments. The government, then, is the only entity with the financial resources needed to get things moving, and they should be pumping cash into the economy through infrastructure projects and the like, to get things moving again.
There is another…
terrasig | November 14, 2008While I'm still compiling and formatting yet another fabulous overseas wine experience from Erleichda for today's main Friday Fermentable, I experienced a bizarre convergence last evening after writing my post on my dissertation defense anniversary.
After plowing through my post, I was catching up on Google Reader and was pointed to the latest post by writer-bartender, scribbler50, and his new blog, Behind the Stick. You must go read his post on, "yet another annoying snobbery afoot in that place I like to call bar-land. . .the newly minted single malt connoisseur."
The post by scribbler50…
clock | November 13, 2008Global Warming Link To Amphibian Declines In Doubt:
Evidence that global warming is causing the worldwide declines of amphibians may not be as conclusive as previously thought, according to biologists. The findings, which contradict two widely held views, could help reveal what is killing the frogs and toads and aid in their conservation.
Drought Tolerant Plants? New Technique Enables Assessment Of Drought Performance:
Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence is an effective way of determining how well plants can cope with low-water conditions. The technique allows a quantitative and precise…
clock | November 12, 2008Ice Age Beasts In Europe: Migration Of The Woolly Rhinoceros Earlier Than Assumed:
The newly described skull of the oldest woolly rhinoceros in Europe shows that these giant creatures - with two impressively large horns on the bridge of their noses - once roamed across central Germany. The large shaggy mammals grazed at the foot of the Kyffhäuser range, whose unforested, rocky slopes loomed out of the broad, bleak plains of northern Thuringia 460,000 years ago. The climate at this time was icy cold and far drier than today.
Evolution's New Wrinkle: Proteins With 'Cruise Control' Act Like…
sb admin | November 10, 2008We've talked quite a bit about ethics in this space, especially medical ethics and "blog ethics". Today, though, we will specifically examine the nature of medical ethics as they apply to so-called alternative medicine.
First, and perhaps most important, I am not an ethicist. I do not have the depth of reading, the knowledge of terminology, or the specific education to lead a formal discussion on ethics. What I am is a practicing internist, who must make ethical decisions on a daily basis. Most of these decisions are of necessity made "from the heart", but it is not infrequent that I must…
nisbetmc | November 5, 2008
From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
The 2008 presidential election has broken so many political barriers that historians may overlook one unusual fact: When Barack Obama takes the oath of office next January alongside his running mate, Joe Biden, it will be the first time in history that the president, vice president, and both of their spouses have worked in higher education.
Taken together, the Obamas and the Bidens have amassed decades of experience at colleges and universities. Mr. Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 until 2004, when he…
purepedantry | November 3, 2008Professors are not effective at indoctrinating their students with their own politics -- or so says a study in the journal PS as reported in the NYTimes:
A study of nearly 7,000 students at 38 institutions published in the current PS: Political Science and Politics, the journal of the American Political Science Association, as well as a second study that has been accepted by the journal to run in April 2009, both reach similar conclusions.
"There is no evidence that an instructor's views instigate political change among students," Matthew Woessner and April Kelly-Woessner, a husband-and-wife…
clock | November 1, 2008Annals of McCain - Palin, XLI: how I palled around with terrorists:
No one who knows me would ever consider me a domestic terrorist. I am, in fact, a pacifist. You may think that's naive, but it would be a real stretch to consider my pacifism to be the same as terrorism, even if you think it helps terrorism (in which case I strenuously disagree). I'm a doctor and take the responsibility to heal pretty seriously. Barack Obama is being accused of "palling around with terrorists" because he has had an association with people the McCain campaign decided they want to call domestic terrorists…
amillikan | October 30, 2008
If you don't think you are a brain in a vat, then there are certain things in life you regard as true—things that are also accepted as true by most other people. When events happen, there are generally highly efficient methods to convey information to the public so that the first-hand information gathered by a select few is transformed into "common knowledge" in an increasingly short period of time. But because currently accepted methods of establishing a consensus on scientific claims are lengthy and inaccessible to the public, "most of the knowledge in science is uncommon," according to…
laelaps | October 29, 2008
From Garfield Minus Garfield.
In high school, I always felt like the dullest of the bright kids. Even though I made it into a number of AP and honors classes and held my own, I always felt like I didn't quite belong. "I'm not as smart as these people; what am I doing here?"
By 2001 I had my diploma in hand, indicating that I had survived high school, and I headed off to college. It was a struggle almost from the very start, and now that I am reaching the end of my tortuous university experience I realize that I never shook that old feeling from the days of my secondary education. I still…
skookumchick | October 29, 2008A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to come to a day-long workshop hosted by the Association of Women in Science at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis. Below are some snippets on things I learned, for better or worse.
I listened to a panel of scientists, Margaret Wasilewski, Katherine Armstrong, and Alisa Wright. Wasilewski is moving into retirement, and asks us to pass on good ideas and information to people coming after us. She said she recommended that you trust your instincts about what roads are good for you, and if there is no road where you want to go, you build it yourself. Armstrong…
terrasig | October 24, 2008From this press release:
It is with deepest sadness that North Carolina Central University announces the passing of photojournalist Alex Rivera [Alexander M Rivera, Jr]. Rivera, a nationally renowned and prominent photojournalist, established the public relations office at North Carolina Central University, and served as the office's first director.
"This is a sad day for NCCU", said Chancellor Charlie Nelms. "Not only was Mr. Rivera an integral part of the university's history, he made invaluable contributions to the world through his photography. He was a valued member of our community and…
clock | October 22, 2008Under the fold, as it is a LOT of links....
I am the angry left:
It is a matter of survival of our way of life, of our basic values, of our democratic system, not to mention several important elements of that system such as education, affordable health care, social security, and a reasonable degree of peace among nations.
Getting Off Our Asses:
I don't believe in a shoe-in. I know better now. They cheat, they lie, they fix elections, they want to remain the select privileged while we get foreclosed on, our health insurance becomes unaffordable, and our young people die in a winless, needless…
drorzel | October 22, 2008Inside Higher Ed this morning has a story about a mock trial to be held at Northern Kentucky University:
The trial centers around the termination of fictitious biology teacher Susan Scott (a traditionally trained evolution adherent), who according to her complaint, encouraged students to "explore creation theories." Scott, who will be played by Simon Kenton High School teacher Heather Mastin, is suing the fictitious Chandler County School Board for wrongful termination and seeks reinstatement, compensatory damages and a judicial declaration that the school board violated her First Amendment…
skookumchick | October 21, 2008Hear ye, hear ye! I am looking for an awesome up-and-coming scholar to work with on ADVANCE. See the job advertisement below! Email me with questions! Spread the word! Thanks!
ADVANCE-Purdue and the Purdue Center for Faculty Success (PCFS) invite applications for a postdoctoral scholar.
We are seeking a highly-motivated up-and-coming researcher to help develop and administer a series of research studies associated with increasing the number of women, particularly women of color, in faculty positions in the Colleges of Science, Technology, and Engineering at Purdue University. This…
omnibrain | October 20, 2008A State Legislature proclaimed an amazing thing recently which has just so made my day! They took time out of their busy schedule of shutting down state parks and getting in a fiduciary pissing match to proclaim that this week is grad student week or some such garbage. Here's the official proclamation:
WHEREAS, Graduate Schools play an important role in enhancing the nation's economic competitiveness and innovation; and
WHEREAS, the National Science Foundation cites State universities for attracting $5.4 billion in federally sponsored grants and contracts, over the past five years; and…
gregladen | October 15, 2008The creationist-biased Texas Board of Education has assembled a committee to 'review science curriculum standards.' This group includes a few actual scientist types, and ... pay attention folks .. Wisconsin based ID creationist Ralph Seelke, Baylor creationist chemist Charles Garner, and Stephen Meyer, vice president of the Discovery Institute. Yes, you read that right. The Texas Board of Education has appointed the President of the Discovery Institute to a committee to review the state's science standards.
un be-fucking-lievable.
There is clearly something you can do to stop this now.…
sporte | October 8, 2008Over the years, I've seen many biotechnology education programs at community colleges embrace outreach to high schools as part of their mission. This kind of enthusiasm for outreach seems unique to biotech. No other kind of science or engineering program seems to do this sort of thing, at least not on the nationwide basis that I've seen demonstrated in biotechnology.
And yet, even though I've always admired and often participated in these efforts, some aspects are a little puzzling.
How do the colleges reconcile the energy spent in outreach efforts with the energy spent towards educating…