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Around the Web: I'm Not Your Sweetheart, Schol Comm competencies for academic librarians & the frustration thereof and more

I'm Not Your Sweetheart (& interesting counterpoint) Library and Repository Communities Join Together to Identify New Competencies for Academic Librarians How to Scuttle a Scholarly Communication Initiative Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? Anonymous asked: Have you personally received crap for being a Mover and Shaker, or are you taking statements against the award as being directed at its recipients? 30 Years of Change and Hype ITHAKA 2012: A BELATED ANALYSIS Why We Need Radical Change for Media Ethics, Not a Return to Basics The Great Lakes Ecosystem: Uses, Abuses and the…

Medicine at ScienceOnline2010

Of course, our conferences always attract a nice contingent of physicians, nurses, medical journalists, biomedical researchers and med-bloggers, so it is not surprising that ScienceOnline2010 will also have sessions devoted to the world of medicine. Check them out: Medicine 2.0 and Science 2.0--where do they intersect? - Walter Jessen Description: Medicine 2.0 applications, services and tools are defined as Web-based services for healthcare consumers/patients, health professionals and biomedical researchers that use Web 2.0 technologies and/or semantic web and virtual reality approaches to…

Medicine at ScienceOnline2010

New World-Science Forum - The Origins of Kindness

The Origins of Kindness: Listen to our interview with science historian Oren Harman. He's our guest in this Science Forum discussion. Harman is a professor at Bar Ilan University in Israel. If evolution favors the survival of the fittest, how did kindness and selflessness evolve? The search for that answer is the subject of Harman's new book, The Price of Altruism. It tells the story of George Price, a scientist who developed an equation that explains how natural selection can favor altruistic behaviors. As Harman writes, George Price's life and work were full of contradictions. Disappointed…

Colonialism Meets International Athletics

This post isn't about science, but it is about something close to my heart. For a long time, I've been outraged over the eternally-unresolved status of U.S. territorial possessions like Puerto Rico and Guam, and over the disenfranchisement of Americans right here in Washington, D.C., who aren't allowed to have voting representation in Congress. Now, a cool website is using the Olympics to publicize D.C.'s status plight. The argument is that if DC isn't granted statehood, then like the other U.S. territories (read "colonies"), it ought to be allowed to have its own Olympic team. In essence,…

Science Online 2012 feedback -- and ideas for #scio13!

Well, I survived. Science Online 2012 took place this past weekend and it was a blast. There's already been quite a bit of discussion in blogs and on Twitter about how it went. A very small selection of the them bits are: Scattered reflections about ScienceOnline 2012 (#scio12) Science Online North Carolina (a nice Storify) Scientists have .... (impressions from #scio12) Sex, Gender, and Controversy, a #scio12 WRAPUP Science writing, in context But there's way more that I've missed, I'm sure. One of the things the stellar organizing committee of Bora Zivkovic, Anton Zuiker and Karyn…

Job Posting: Science Librarian, York University Libraries

Come work instead of me! Below is a posting for a 3-year contractually limited appointment in my unit. I'm chair of the search committee, so feel free to ask away with any questions about the position. I'll answer them to the best of my ability given the limitations of being on the committee. As it happens, I'll no longer be the department head of Steacie Science & Engineering Library during the three year period of the appointment. For the first year, the successful candidate will be replacing me while I do a one-year acting Associate University Librarian appointment. The second year, I'…

Job Posting: Science Librarian, York University Libraries

New and Exciting in PLoS ONE

There are 27 brand-new articles, just uploaded on PLoS ONE. Here are a couple of titles that drew my immediate attention: Maternal Enrichment during Pregnancy Accelerates Retinal Development of the Fetus: Although much is known about the harmful effects parental stress has on offspring, little is understood about how enriching a mother's environment affects fetal development. In this paper, the authors experiment on developing rat embryos and find that an enriched environment speeds up the development of the nervous system. The results suggest that development of the visual system is…

Caryn Shechtman: A Blogger Success Story (an interview with Yours Truly)

You may have noticed a couple of days ago that Caryn Shechtman posted an interview with me on the New York blog on Nature Network. Then, Caryn and Erin and I thought it might be a good idea to have the entire interview reposted here, for those who missed it. So, proceed under the fold: 1. What is your professional background? Even as a little kid I always loved animals and thought that whatever I do when I grow up would have something to do with animals: perhaps work at a zoo or in a circus!. When I was in 6th grade or so, I read the entire series of books by James Herriot and decided to…

Things Forthcoming!

I'm doing a bunch of stuff right now (I'm always doing a bunch of stuff, actually) that I thought I'd mention here. First, on Monday March 21, at 5:30 I'll be at the first Unitarian Universalist Society in Albany talking to Congressman Paul Tonko about peak oil, climate change and regional preparedness in an event put on by Capital District Transition. It ought to be interesting! Drop me an email if you have suggestions for questions you'd like me to put to Congressman Tonko. Second, on April 9 at 7pm, I'll be at the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY, talking about food, energy…

Victory in Connecticut

The Connecticut House of Representatives passed a bill allowing civil unions for gay couples on an 85-63 vote and Governor Rell signed the bill less than an hour after it was passed. The final version contains language that says that "marriage" is still defined as the union of a man and a woman, but the bill itself affords equal legal protections to civil unions between gay couples. It may not be a complete victory, but it's a monumental step forward as the first time an elected legislature has granted such protections without court action first. The reaction by gay rights groups hits the…

The Bottleneck Years by H.E.Taylor - Chapter 59

The Bottleneck Years by H.E. Taylor Chapter 58 Table of Contents Chapter 60 Chapter 59 Asteroid Disaster January 27, 2058 Last week I got a late night call from Rhamaposa. He was stone cold sober and didn't waste time with preliminaries. "We've lost contact with the Daedalus group." "What happened?" "We're not sure. We're waiting for the 24 hour summary." Because of the distance and the danger involved, UNGETF had insisted on an automated video summary which would be transmitted by the computer every 24 hours. It was basically a compressed stop-frame video record. The algorithm tracked…

Blasphemy Day

Mark it on your calendar: 30 September is going to be Blasphemy Day. Join the Facebook group, if that is your kind of thing. Blasphemy Day International is an international campaign seeking to establish September 30th as a national day to promote free speech and stand up in a show of solidarity for the freedom to mock and insult religion without fear of murder, violence, and reprisal. It is the obligation of the world's nations to safeguard dissent and the dissenters, not to side with the brutal interests of thugs who demand "respect" for their beliefs (i.e., immunity to being criticized or…

The Psychology of Classification (of Aliens)

So... my girlfriend studies categories and concepts and her adviser wanted her to show a video for her first year project. Of course I went out to youtube and tried to find something sensible since I'm procrastinating right now on my psych 100 syllabus - and of course I found something absolutely ridiculous (hey... it IS youtube). Here is how to categorize all the Alien Species that have been wandering around the earth since our first contact with our galactic overlords at Roswell:

Education and Outreach at ScienceOnline2010

Every year, we pay special attention to sessions that explore the use of the Web in science education. This year is no different - there are several sessions to choose from: Citizen Science and Students - Sandra Porter, Tara Richerson (science_goddess), and Antony Williams Description: Students are a great resource for projects that require large numbers of volunteers. We will discuss examples of projects that combine student learning with authentic research and the power of blogs to connect students with projects. Discuss here. Science Education: Adults - Darlene Cavalier Description: "…

Education and Outreach at ScienceOnline2010

The Paradox of Choice (Internet Version)

So the Times is reporting that online sales are starting to stall/ (Jack Shafer disagrees.) This trend certainly jives with my own shopping experiences. While I still buy most of my things online - the only thing I will never buy online are pants - I've grown disenchanted with the vast majority of online retail sites. Simply put, they offer me way too many options. Take flip-flops. A few weeks ago, I decided to get a new pair of flip flops. I dutifully went to Zappos (free shipping!) and looked in the "casual sandals" section. There were 1590 options. Just for men. In my size. So then I…

Earthcast 2008

As part of Earth Day festivities next week, I will be a guest with Karen of the Beagle Project and Rick of Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice and Sunsets on Jason's Cephalopodcast. This will part of a 24-hour webcastathon for Earth Day. Jason's theme for his segment is "The Other 71%" in reference to the amount Earth's surface covered by oceans. There will also be opportunities to participate in the dialog through chat rooms while the webcast is live streaming, so I encourage everyone to tune in at 10pm GMT (6pm Eastern US time) and join the conversation! There will be more details on how to…

Who's Ensuring Cleanup Workers are Adequately Trained and Protected?

By Elizabeth Grossman It's now a month since the Deepwater Horizon well exploded, and the oil continues to flow. By official count, the response now involves 27,400 civilian and military personnel, 11,000 volunteers, more than 1040 boats, dozens of aircraft, and multiple offshore drilling units. As more and more people become involved, health and safety precautions for responders are becoming increasingly important. "How many lessons have we not learned from the Exxon Valdez experience and how many mistakes are being repeated in a worse way?" asks Mark Catlin, who has set up a Facebook group…

Big Open Lab Announcements!

First, the first couple of reviews of the 2010 anthology are now out: by Dr. Alistair Dove at Deep Sea News and by Ariel Carpenter at USC News. Check them out. If you have read the book and have a place to publish a review, we'll appreciate it - just send us the link. Second, I am very excited to join Bora in announcing the Guest Editor for the 2011 edition: Jennifer Ouellette (blog, Twitter). I am sure that Jennifer will do a fantastic job putting together the sixth edition of the anthology! I couldn't be more thrilled. Third, after five years of self-publishing the anthology through Lulu.…

If the quizzmakers could only spell...

I could not resist this one, first seen here: What Science are You? You are Entymology. You are a conneseiur of the crawly. Bugs fascinate you. Let's face it, they are cool. Most people will think you're weird icky, but those of sophisticated taste will realize just how exquisit a roach can truly be.Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Around the Web: The tablet wars, Discoverability, Teaching online and more

The Tablet Wars Are On, With Big Stakes for Publishers 5 Reasons Why Your Online Presence Will Replace Your Resume in 10 years How will undergraduates navigate a post peer-review scholarly landscape? Social Network Mapping Fun with NodeXL and Science Online 2011 Authors, Readers and Discoverability in the new age of publishing Tell us something we don't know: Gladwell on the U.S. News college rankings (non-academics as public intellectuals) The digital pioneers: New forms of scholarship are transforming areas of the humanities Do Record Stores Point the Way of the Future for Bookstores? The…

Off the Queue and Into the Neurons

Books conquered during the holiday resting season: "Learning the World" by Ken MacLeod, "The Crack in Space" by Philip K. Dick, and "Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide" by Paul Gregutt. Learning the World by Ken MacLeod. A first contact novel. Or rather, a pre-first contact novel. Enjoyable, but I was left wishing that the characters were more fleshed out. Also [SEMI SPOILER ALERT] notable for its use of the increasingly common "universitas ex machina." You know what I mean: "universitas ex machina" is where parallel universes/the multiverse are used as a nice escape…

How to recruit women and minorities in a faculty search?

I'm no longer the most junior member of the department, so I'm not quite as sheltered from service obligations as I was last year. That means that when a faculty position opened up unexpectedly, I got tapped to serve on the search committee. As the woman on the committee, I'm finding myself tasked with making sure that we have a diverse applicant pool. I'm glad that our university is genuine about their support for diversity (at least in applicant pools), and I'm happy to do what I can to make sure this pool is diverse, but ... no one has told me how to go about doing so. So far, the things…

Atheist Evangelists

Richard Dawkins has been everywhere lately. Dawkins is even keeping an online journal while on his book tour. It's full of amusing, if slightly mean-spirited, vignettes like this: The large hall at Randolph Macon Woman's College was packed. I gave a fairly short program of readings from The God Delusion, and then the bulk of the evening was given over to much more than an hour of Q & A. The first questioner announced himself as coming from Liberty (Falwell's 'University'), and he began by saying he had never been so insulted, yet simultaneously so amused, by any lecture. Many of the…

Seed Dreaming

Sorry for the extended radio silence. A combination of Apprentice Weekend, followed by Fellowship Application due, followed by ice storm related power outage, followed by internet outage of indeterminate cause, followed by visitor, followed by a series of family administrative things put off because of all the previous means that I'm just now online, and my email is still down, so if you've tried to contact me, please be patient! I'm not ignoring you, just discombobulated. I apologize for the difficulties - especially if you have tried to register for the garden design class and been…

Nuclear Conversation, Coming Up Friday, Webcast

From an Eco Politics listserv I see mention of an upcoming debate about Nuclear Energy: "Cradle to Grave: New Nukes and Old Radioactive Waste" It is a Live Webcast Debate being held on the 27th. The link is here, but you can't see anything until the webcast. More details below the fold... MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CAN NUCLEAR POWER BE THE SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND FUTURE ENERGY DEMAND? ***Live Webcast Debate*** FORMER GREENPEACE ACTIVIST TURNED NUCLEAR INDUSTRY SPOKESMAN TO DEBATE LEADING "VOICES OF REASON" AGAINST A PROPOSED NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE Burlington, VT - After…

Does Shirky's Cognitive Surplus undervalue meatspace?

Â ï»¿Jonah Lehrer has a nice post elaborating on his Barnes & Noble review of Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus. Like me, Lehrer finds alluring and valuable Shirky's central point, which is that the net is harnessing in constructive form a lot of time and energy that we appear to have been wasting watching TV. Yet Lehrer â who, unlike me, has read Shirky's book â finds that Shirky overplays his case, and that in his enthusiasm for networked contributions and collaborations he discounts both consumption and many offline interactions. HeÂ Lehrer mounts a convincing argument, and you really…

More nasty flies

If you thought botflies were bad, check out Bug Girl's post on tumbu flies. The adult flies lay their eggs on wet laundry hanging out to dry, or in the soil or sand. Within two days, larvae hatch, and can remain alive for up to two weeks. During that time, if they come into contact with skin, they burrow in. Oh, don't worry, there's more...check out the link to see how vaseline and ironing your underwear come into play.

Moonlit Beach

Moonlit Beach. Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: moonlight, beach, nature, geology

Ingenuity

Ingenuity Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: canary, Ingenuity, bird

Poppies

Poppies. Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: flower, poppy, flowering plant, botany

Joan Jett Still Rocks

The best description of Joan Jett ever penned (and from the very uncool NY Times no less): In the 1980's, when she ruled Top 40 radio, Joan Jett was the perfect embodiment of rock's primal qualities. She was young, cocky, sexy, rebellious and knew how to rock a pair of leather pants. (Rahav Segev for The New York Times) Somehow she just doesn't seem pathetic like so many of the other aging rockers do. I had free tickets to go see Bow Wow Wow a couple of years ago, and the lead singer, who used to be in that 'sensual' rock star class, was...erm. Well, let's just say I expected her minivan…

DC Event: Picturing Climate Change

This Tuesday, April 7, the Koshland Science museum in DC is hosting a book talk: Join NASA scientist Gavin Schmidt and accomplished photographer Joshua Wolfe as they demonstrate how photographs can illustrate the effects of global warming more poignantly than any temperature graph or chart. The two will show photos and satellite images of retreating glaciers, sinking villages in Alaska's tundra, and drying lakes from their new book, Climate Change: Picturing the Science. They will also discuss how scientists gather climate data and come up with cutting-edge research findings. RSVPs are…

ScienceOnline09 - blog coverage so far

A Blog Around The Clock: Get your calendars... A Blog Around The Clock: Will there be a Third Science Blogging Conference? A Blog Around The Clock: ScienceOnline'09 A Blog Around The Clock: Submit your entries for the third Science Blogging Anthology A Blog Around The Clock: ScienceOnline'09 - Registration is Open! Confessions of a Science Librarian: ScienceOnline '09 Laelaps: I'm going, are you? The Beagle Project Blog: Registration open for ScienceOnline'09 and OpenLaboratory'08 Living the Scientific Life: ScienceOnline'09 Conference in North Carolina Michael Nielsen: Biweekly links for 09…

Urgent: Uterine Plush Recall!

I don't know how in hell I missed this one, but thank heavens A Repository for Bottled Monsters alerted me to the "Uterine Plush Recall" over at I Heart Guts! Apparently the uterus "failed a pull test" and "the ovaries may be pulled off and become a choking hazard"! I do not think I am alone in saying eeeuuuuww! I Heart Guts assures us that rest of their smiling fuzzy internal organs are perfectly safe for all ages, but if you are in possession of a smug, Thriller video-dancing, pink plush uterus with hazardous trachea-sized violet ovaries, please contact appropriate support personnel…

ScienceOnline2010 - interview with Jelka Crnobrnja

Continuing with the tradition from last two years, I will occasionally post interviews with some of the participants of the ScienceOnline2010 conference that was held in the Research Triangle Park, NC back in January. See all the interviews in this series here. You can check out previous years' interviews as well: 2008 and 2009. Today, I asked Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailovic from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, to answer a few questions. Welcome to A Blog Around The Clock. Would you, please, tell my readers a little bit more about yourself? Where are you coming from (both geographically and…

Introduction to emerging diseases and zoonoses, part 1

So, I'm back from Atlanta. While there, I attended two back-to-back conferences. First, ICEID: International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases; second, ISEZ: International Symposium on Emerging Zoonoses. I thought I'd do a multi-part series this week discussing some of the highlights. To make sure everyone is on the same page, first I'll discuss just what is meant by an "emerging infectious disease" and a "zoonosis" or "zoonotic disease." An "emerging disease" is generally defined as "any of a group of diseases, of various cause, that have newly appeared or are rapidly…

Another Pharyngubrunch

I'm going to be on Atheists Talk radio on Sunday morning to talk about the Galápagos, and as long as I'm in the big city, I was also going to join the godless gang at Q. Cumbers at 11:00am Sunday for a little brunch. If you want to join us, come on down!

SCONC tomorrow at Duke: Influenza - What's more contagious, the virus or the hype?

When writing the other day about how blogging has been of benefit to my career, I neglected to mention my recent invitation to the board of Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC). Founded in June 2007 by Karl Leif Bates and Chris Brodie, and now headed by President Ernie Hood (Radio In Vivo), SCONC is a group of "science writers, journalists, public information officers, teachers and institutional communicators from academia, government labs, industry, museums and schools -- just about anyone interested in communicating science," who aim to improve public understanding of science…

Goodbye ScienceBlogs

Craig is away at a workshop but emailed me this message to relay. Remember to visit and bookmark our new site! ------------------------------------------------------- When I was much, much younger, I joined Jacques Cousteau's Calypso Club (named affectionately after his beloved ship). Was anyone else club members? Is there still a Calypso Club? The rights and privileges of this elite club were endless. Entry was limited to any child with a few bucks to their name and a few cereal box tops. My membership packet came in with all kinds of information, patches, stickers, and certificates.…

Online professionalism at #Scio10

Next week, Val Jones and I are leading a discussion of professional ethics as they intersect with a professional's online life. Each profession has its own set of ethics and draws its own lines but medicine is what I know best. I'd like to invite participants (or anyone, actually) to proffer ethical dilemmas related to having an online presence. Some things to think about: Some professionals bypass the issue by either staying off the internet or remaining anonymous/pseudonymous. To abandon the internet is like practicing abstinence for STD and pregnancy prevention. To stay offline without…

Science and Congress

The Science Communication Consortium presents: Science and Congress: The Role of Think Tanks and Congressional Science Committees Thursday, April 24, 2008 7:00-8:30pm CUNY - 365 Fifth Avenue, NY NY (directions below) Recent years have seen a rise in prominence of legislative issues that control how scientists work or that require scientific information for decision making. How do legislators receive this information, and what are the potential effects of distortion or misunderstanding of it on science in the United States? Join us for a discussion on how science-related think tanks and…

NYC Event: Think Tanks and Congressional Science

The latest in the Science Communication Consortium series... The Science Communication Consortium presents: Science and Congress: The Role of Think Tanks and Congressional Science Committees Thursday, April 24, 2008 7:00-8:30pm CUNY - 365 Fifth Avenue, NY NY (directions below) Recent years have seen a rise in prominence of legislative issues that control how scientists work or that require scientific information for decision making. How do legislators receive this information, and what are the potential effects of distortion or misunderstanding of it on science in the United States? Join us…

McCain Admits He Doesn't Know How to Use the Web or Email

John McCain, in an interview with the NY Times, admitted that he does not know how to use the Web or even email. McCain, who will turn 73 in August, is well behind trends among other Americans his age. Pew reports in its latest survey that more than 30% of Americans age 65 and older are online and this figure is likely to be over 50% among college educated seniors. (For example, my 91 year old Grandfather owns a computer, sends me email, and reads my blog.) Should we care that McCain lacks even a basic familiarity with the online world? Consider that a President McCain would probably be the…

Joining Talk to Action

As though I don't have enough blogs to write for, I have decided to join another one: Talk to Action. I would like to thank Frederick Clarkson for his generous offer to join the terrific cast of writers they already have there. Being asked to join a cast of contributors that already includes Clarkson, Bruce Wilson, Richard Bartholomew, Michelle Goldberg and John Gorenfeld, among others, is quite a compliment and I appreciate it very much. For those who are not familiar with Talk To Action, I encourage you to check it out. They are dedicated to fighting the religious right's authoritarian…

Science Blogging News

Several items showed up recently that may be of interest to science bloggers, their readers, and related science communicators of various stripes.... A) Today, Eureka, the science section of London Times, published a list of Top 30 Science Blogs. Every list that has me in it is a good list ;-) They say "Zivkovic, who studies circadian rhythms, is an often-provocative evangelist for new media who has probably done more than anyone else to inspire scientists to blog. He is also a must-follow on Twitter, where he posts as @boraz" They could have had a more diverse group (in sense of gender,…

Text of Remarks on "Re-Imagining University Science Media"

Tomorrow morning at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, I will be addressing the annual conference of the University Research Magazine Association. I have pasted the text of my prepared remarks below with relevant links embedded. I will post a follow up on Friday highlighting questions, comments, and reactions. Readers are strongly encouraged to weigh in with their own reactions. As professional science communicators and journalists, you are living in an era of convergence between two major trends in society. The first trend is a dominant focus of this conference: Technology, audience…

Family

Merganser family hitching a ride. Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation. I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited. . tags: duck, merganser, aves, ornithology, zoology

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