Monday, May 22, 2006

Students - if you think YOU are stressed in this final exam week, it may help to "walk in your teacher's shoes." This article tells you what it's like from the other end of the classroom.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

RFID (radio frequency identification) is a fascinating and worrisome technology. We know about it because some libraries are now using RFID chips in their security systems (to prevent books and other materials from being stolen). This article will give you an insight into the concerns associated with using the technology, as well as showing the many applications in which it is already to be found. From libraries, to retail, to health care, to the passports of the future -- is this really the direction we want to go?

Monday, May 15, 2006

Back in December of '05, science magazine Nature conducted a study comparing the accuracy in science-related articles in both Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia. Controversy ensued.

Follow the controversy by clicking here for the Nature article; here for Encyclopedia Britannica's rebuttal; and here for Nature's response to EB.

For an information professional's take on the matter, click here.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Continuing on with the immigration theme: the New York Times has an immigration special feature on their Times Topics page. The page contains articles, multimedia, and an RSS button so that you can track each time something new is added to the page.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Can you believe the results of the polls that you read about on the topic of immigration? Public Agenda Online cautions readers to be aware that:

Results change when survey questions are reworded slightly
Results change when implications or trade-offs of a policy are pointed out.
Results may be misleading if reported in isolation or out of context
Other research suggests that people have incomplete or inaccurate knowledge in this area.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Congratulations to library technician Rudy Martinez and the rest of the wonderful cast in Remembering the Future: a journey through the mind of Rio Hondo College. The community-based theatre production is based on actual conversations and events that have taken place at Rio Hondo throughout the years. Five of Rio's classified staff had parts in the play with the fabulous Rio Hondo Theatre company filling out the cast. The professionalism and naturalism shown by all the actors was outstanding. Congratulations to playwright Bernardo Solano and director William Korf for providing a rich and multi-layered script and theatre experience.

As William Korf relates in the program notes for the play, "Community-based theatre is about giving voice to communities...The process for Rio's production began last year when Bernardo Solano, a college professor and playwright whose specialty is CBT, began to work with me by bringing the classified staff together to hear their stories. This is done through a seies of 'story circles': about 10 people sitting around, sharing food and drink, and answering questions about their lives, their jobs, this campus and how they intermix. About 50 classified staff attended our 6 story circles, which took place over a 6-month period in 2005. Then Bernardo wrote the first draft of the play. We held a public reading of the play in December 2005. This reading took the form of a giant circle of people in Putnam Center and so, since it was scheduled for demolition in January, we wanted to bid it a fond farewell. (Here it is late April and Putnam Center is still hanging on). In fact, the play you see is set in the ruins of Putnam Center, This seemed like the appropriate setting to have our story take place since many people in the story circles kept referring to the uniqueness of the building and the beauty of the view from the grass behind it."