clock | July 28, 2008Martin saw this comment of mine and sprung into action: Name the new 'Carnival of Scientific Life'!
The two big questions are what to call it, and how often to host it, so I'd like your input in the comments below please. I'll be making the final decision on August 1st.
What would be a good name for the carnival? (Ideally something without "carnival" in the title.)
Should it be held monthly, or at some other frequency?
The carnival is intended to cover all aspects of life as a scientist, whether it's the lifestyle, career progress, doing a Ph.D., getting funding, climbing the slippery pole,…
clock | July 28, 2008The Health Blogosphere: What It Means for Policy Debates and Journalism:
The Kaiser Family Foundation is sponsoring a discussion about the growing influence of blogs on health news and policy debates. Only in the past few years has the blogosphere become mainstream. In the health policy arena, we now see policymakers, journalists, researchers and interest groups utilizing this new media tool to deliver information to their audiences. The briefing will highlight how the traditional health policy world has embraced blogging and will feature a keynote address by U.S. Department of Health and…
clock | July 28, 2008Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating, Hellbound, Zombified Living Dead Part 2: In Shocking 2-D:
clock | July 28, 2008Like we did the last two years, SciBlings will have a month-long fundraising drive for educational projects via DonorsChoose. More info soon.
For now, check out Janet's first teaser for some info.
Also checkk out the DonorsChoose blog for their information.
For the locals - there is an exciting NC part of this all:
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, an independent private foundation in North Carolina, will support $25,000 in inquiry-based science and mathematics projects through DonorsChoose.org during the 2008 / 2009 school year.
These funds are only available to North Carolina teachers, so take…
clock | July 28, 2008Lee Siegel was on NPR's On The Media the other day, defending his sockpuppetry and painting all bloggers as unwashed hordes of fascists. Boo hoo.
I listened to the podcast and it was too short to be of much substance. The interviewer has no idea how big of an offense sockpuppetry is, and Siegel demonstrated that, apart from comments on his own blog, he has never really taken a look at the blogosphere as a whole. If the comments on his posts are all he knows, he really knows nothing about blogs. The quip about editors who wink about nobody reading comments is just another proof how…
clock | July 28, 2008Citation Statistics (pdf):
This is a report about the use and misuse of citation data in the assessment of scientific research. The idea that research assessment must be done using "simple and objective" methods is increasingly prevalent today. The "simple and objective" methods are broadly interpreted as bibliometrics, that is, citation data and the statistics derived from them. There is a belief that citation statistics are inherently more accurate because they substitute simple numbers for complex judgments, and hence overcome the possible subjectivity of peer review. But this belief is…
clock | July 28, 2008Science Communicators of North Carolina:
Thursday, August 7
7 p.m.
The Beautiful Mind: Making Memories
Dr. Kelly Giovanello of the UNC-CH Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory Lab. Part of the Morehead Planetarium Current Science Forum.
250 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill, (919) 962-1236
clock | July 27, 2008Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes, it is the triumph of hope over experience.
- Marina Schinz
clock | July 27, 2008Welcome to the seventh edition of Berry Go Round, the carnival about all things botanical.
The previous edition was last month at Seeds Aside and the 8th issue will be at the end of August on Not Exactly Rocket Science.
The tradition for this carnival is to make it colorful (well, the plants are pretty), so I did what several other hosts of various carnivals did recently and used the LOLCat Builder to make it pretty and fun.
Since this makes the post very image-heavy and may slow down loading of the page for people with slower connections, I have placed them all under the fold.
To see from…
clock | July 27, 2008Literacy debate: Online, r u really reading?:
As teenagers' scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading -- diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.
But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write.
clock | July 27, 2008Scoble: The blog editing system in action (also check out the discussion on FriendFeed):
Journalists who fight this system (and readers who don't check out the comments) are missing the point. This is a participatory media, not a one-way one, and, while it has a different editing system (the editing is done post publishing, not pre publishing) it's pretty clear to me that this system arrives at the truth a lot faster than anything on paper does.
I thought Bloggers vs. Journalists was Over. I guess not, as long as dinosaurs are still extant and capable of mouthing words...
Related...and…
clock | July 27, 2008Diversity In Primary Schools Promotes Harmony, Study Finds:
For the first time, children as young as 5 have been shown to understand issues regarding integration and separation. The research confirms that the ethnic composition of primary schools has a direct impact on children's attitudes towards those in other ethnic groups and on their ability to get on with their peers.
Who's More Likely To Do Sports? White, Middle Class, And Middle-aged:
The comfortably off, white, and middle aged are the most likely to participate in sporting activities, reveals a 10 year study published ahead of print…
clock | July 27, 2008Watch it here:
The Extraordinary Everyday Lives Show #053 - Open Science:
This show is all about the intersection of Technology and Human desire. This year Dave and I have been focusing on 'deepening connections' with those we subscribe to via RSS. Having a chat on a podcast is a remarkable way of doing that we have found. Agenda is loose guide only, we are very stream of consciousness, no edits, no script kinda guys.
clock | July 27, 2008The second edition of The Giant's Shoulders, carnival of history of science, will be hosted by The Lay Scientist on August 15th. Check out the first edition to see what it is all about, then submit your stuff. If you appeared in a previous edition, you need to write something new, but if this will be your first time, you can sneak in some of your best old stuff, I'm sure that will be OK...
clock | July 26, 2008Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.
- Jennifer Unlimited