Academia

Academic Language

Every now and then academics revive the discussion on the readability, dissemination and usefulness of research. Most researchers write for a small group of peers. Most of the peers are already aware of what is being done before they actually read the research article. Add to this the depressing thought that only about eight people (this is a commonly cited figure, probably an urban myth) ever read an academic work (research article or phd thesis) and that is counting the reviewers and editor.

All this makes the practice of academic writing seem rather pointless.

PhD Comics by Jorge Cham

Part of the reason for this is that academics tend to become linguistically narcissistic (Oops, sorry – see what I mean). Instead of writing clearly and plainly they fill their pages with complex jargon from within their research field. They then have the arrogance to be annoyed when others have a difficulty reading their texts.

So, now that I have reached this insight (again!) I shall strive to be more clear in my writing (again!)

Posted on by mklang

Presentation technique

Teaching and presenting is an handicraft. It is, unfortunately, an underestimated craft. Most presenters are too boring and too disinterested in their own material. This becomes even more obvious when you see a great presenter in action.

Take a look at Hans Rosling debunking our impressions about the third-world myths on poverty, families, health and growth. Not only is he enthusiastic but he also uses some of the most exciting statistics rendering software I have ever seen in a presentation.

Youâ??ve never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called â??developing worldâ?? using extraordinary animation software developed by his Gapminder Foundation. The Trendalyzer software (recently acquired by Google) turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop. Asian countries, as colorful bubbles, float across the grid — toward better national health and wealth. Animated bell curves representing national income distribution squish and flatten. In Roslingâ??s hands, global trends â?? life expectancy, child mortality, poverty rates â?? become clear, intuitive and even playful.

Download this talk in full SD resolution.

Hans Rosling is very cool this is from his bio:

Rosling began his wide-ranging career as a physician, spending many years in rural Africa tracking a rare paralytic disease (which he named konzo) and discovering its cause: hunger and badly processed cassava. He co-founded Médecins sans Frontièrs (Doctors without Borders) Sweden, wrote a textbook on global health, and as a professor at the Karolinska Institut in Stockholm initiated key international research collaborations. Heâ??s also personally argued with many heads of state, including Fidel Castro.

As if all this werenâ??t enough, the irrepressible Rosling is also an accomplished sword-swallower â?? a skill he demonstrated at TED2007.

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Ethicomp Doctoral Consortium

The Ethicomp conference has always had a relaxed and encouraging approach. So I was happy to see that they have added a doctoral consortium. Here is an excerpt from the call:

The consortium will comprise a series of master classes in which doctoral students will engage with experienced supervisors in the field to help them hone their research ideas and review their research strategies. Keynote addresses on relevant topics will complete the programme.
The cost of attendance will be confirmed but will be kept to a minimum. There is a limited number of places (probably 20-25) due to the interactive nature of the consortium. Students at any stage of their studies can apply. Places will be awarded on the basis of submitted proposals. Submission procedure
A proposal should be submitted using the following headings:

Personal Details
Full Name, Nationality
Country of residence
Email address
University of study, Name and title of first supervisor
Title of research, Year of study, Mode of study (pt/ft)

Details of Proposal
Part A – 500 words explaining the nature of the research being undertaken and the approach being adopted
Part B – 250 words explaining why a place at the consortium should be awarded.
Part C – a brief endorsement by the first supervisor

Personal Details, Part A and Part B embedded in an email should be submitted by the student.
Part C should be emailed by the first supervisor (the student should arrange this)

The language for the consortium is English, and all submitted proposals must be in English.

Proposals should be submitted to ccsr@dmu.ac.uk by 15 June 2007

For more information please visit http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/conferences/ethicomp/ethicomp07/index1.html

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Questioning Technology

Kevin at Question Technology was at the CHI 2007 conference and found a really interesting paper and presentation called “Questioning the Technological Panacea: Three Reflective Questions for Designers” (Eric Baumer and Bill Tomlinson).

They discussed three questions that product designers should ask:

  1. “Given a technological solution, are there other, possibly non-technological solutions that could address the same problem equally well, if not better?”
  2. “Is the problem being addressed perceived as a problem by the proposed users, or is the situation being unnecessarily problematized by designers?”
  3. “By focusing on a specific problem, is the solution treating a symptom and hiding the cause?”

This paper was part of the “alt.chi” program at CHI, which is a forum for unusual work that wouldn’t ordinarily get published by the conference.  Alt.chi submissions are posted and reviewed in an open public forum.

Read the paper!

Posted on by mklang

Teaching with powerpoint

In November last year I wrote about my concerns about powerpoint misuse in an entry called do you hand out your handouts. Emeritus Prof John Sweller has presented research showing that powerpoints are not really good pedagogical tools.

Basically the human mind cannot effectively take in, process, understand and remember information which comes simultaneously from two sources. Therefore the lecture two sources of input (heavy powerpoints and the lecturer’s voice) becomes a cognitive overload for the short-term memory.

This work is part of his development of cognitive load theory (wikipedia).

Sweller writes on his website:

Cognitive load theory (e.g. Sweller, 1988; 1994) is an instructional theory generated by this field of research. It describes learning structures in terms of an information processing system involving long term memory, which effectively stores all of our knowledge and skills on a more-or-less permanent basis and working memory, which performs the intellectual tasks associated with consciousness. Information may only be stored in long term memory after first being attended to, and processed by, working memory. Working memory, however, is extremely limited in both capacity and duration. These limitations will, under some conditions, impede learning.

The fundamental tenet of cognitive load theory is that the quality of instructional design will be raised if greater consideration is given to the role and limitations, of working memory. Since its conception in the early 1980’s, cognitive load theory has been used to develop several instructional strategies which have been demonstrated empirically to be superior to those used conventionally.

Not all powerpoint is bad. For example showing a diagram and explaining its meaning is useful since it shows the same information in two different forms. These both reinforce each other.

I have never really liked powerpoints overfilled with text so now I have a reason to like them even less. The problem (as always?) lies in finding a good balance between visual aids that reinforce the message and distraction. But what really annoys me is my own dependence on powerpoint in my role as a teacher. In the long run I want to develop myself and leave technology behind.

Posted on by mklang

Devil's Bible on Tour

Devil_medium_small_1News from Humaniorabloggen (the humanist blog) about the Codex Gigas, more often referred to as the Devils Bible.

From the Royal Library website (The Swedish National Library): The Devil’s Bible contains the Old and New Testaments in pre-Vulgate Latin translations, Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae, Josephus’ History of the Jews in a Latin translation, the Chronicle of Bohemia, written by Cosmas of Prague, etc. The manuscript was written in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice in Bohemia. It is called the Devil’s Bible after the impressive picture of that potentate. According to legend the scribe was a monk who had been confined to his cell for some breach of monastic discipline and who, by way of penance, finished the manuscript in one single night with the aid of the Devil whom he had summoned to help him. In 1594 the manuscript was acquired by the Imperial Treasury in Prague. When the Swedish army conquered the city in 1648, it was brought to Sweden and presented to the KB the following year.

The Codex (89,5 x 49 cm, weighs 75 kg and is 624 pages long) and was written on, the calf skin vellum (previously believed to be ass skin vellum). During the last year it has been analyzed and digitalized and is now going to be sent to Prague for a few months for an exhibition at the Prague’s Klementinum palace, the National Library seat, from this September till January 2008.

digitalization process at The Royal Library

The name “The Devils Bible” comes from the fact that the Codex Gigas contains images of the devil (pictures above). The Czech Republic will receive copies of the high quality digitalization and will borrow the Codex. The results of the digitalization and analysis are available online at the Royal Library’s website later this year. There has naturally (?) been discussions concerning the return of the work but apparently The Czech Republic does not contest Swedish ownership.

Cultural artifacts are always a sensitive issue in particular if they were taken in times of war or imperialist occupation. Some items in museums are more connected to specific cultures (the Egyptian collections in Berlin and London for example) but works such as the Codex Gigas are much more complicated to associate with one specific nation state.

Posted on by mklang

Social Impact of the Web

If you happen to be in London on 25th May then you may want to attend the RSA special event Social Impact of the Web: Society, Government and the Internet. With speakers Cass Sunstein, Tom Steinberg, Andrew Chadwick, William Davies, Matthew Taylor, Bronwyn Kunhardt, Georgina Henry it promises to be a very interesting day (in addition to this the event is free). Unfortunately I will not be in London so I cannot attend (how annoying) I would very much have liked to have been there.

Here is the text from the advert:

How can new internet technology empower us to interact with each other in novel ways?

This conference will address this question by focusing on the political culture and norms that the internet has been instrumental in fostering, both in relation to centralised politics and more diffuse social and civic networks.

It will also look at the psychology of the internet â?? as we create virtual fully living worlds, lines may be crossed between what is real and unreal in our lives.

Virtual environments let people create their own digital identity with their own unique psychology. When online do we treat people differently, does the technology that we are using change how we would behave in the real world? If people create their own representation what does it say about them and what are the wider implications, social and political.

To book a place at this conference visit http://socialimpact.eventbrite.com/

Location: RSA, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6EZ
Date: 25 May 2007
Time: 10.30am – 4.00pm

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2nd International Faslane Academic Blockade and Conference

Call for participation in the 2nd International Faslane Academic Blockade and Conference

Wednesday 27th-Thursday 28th June 2007

Trident Nuclear Weapons Base, Faslane, Near Glasgow, Scotland

 

The 2nd Faslane International Academic Blockade & Conference (FAB Conference) will provide a forum for presenting and discussing papers focused on the impacts of, and alternatives to, the nuclear state. In particular it will focus on the academic arguments against Blairâ??s proposed â??son of Tridentâ?? which it is estimated will cost the UK £76 billion by 2030, equivalent to the cost of bringing our CO2 emissions down by 60% over the same period. The conference is simultaneously a blockade of the Trident nuclear submarine base at Faslane, since it will take place directly at the North Gate of the base, on the road. All who work and study in universities,  including students, and all who are trying to think critically about the nature of the world, are invited to join us.

 

You can participate in a range of ways. You may present a paper at the conference. We hope that papers will take a variety of forms and reflect a variety of perspectives and disciplines. You are also very welcome to come along to listen to papers and participate in discussion groups. If you choose to do so, you may join those who are willing to continue the conference on the road in order to close down the base, thus risking arrest. We also need participants who do not risk arrest and who can, for example, continue our educational work by handing out papers to workers trying to enter the base on the morning of the 28th. Finally, our action overlaps with a studentsâ?? week-long anti-nuclear summer camp, taking place close to Faslane from the 28th. The students will join us on the 28th and would welcome you to stay on and offer workshops or talks at their camp if you wish.

 

REGISTER NOW!

Register for the conference by emailing D.Webb@leedsmet.ac.uk with the following info:

1)         your full name, university affiliation (if any), contact details

2)         whether or not you intend to present a paper

3)         whether or not you intend to blockade the gate and thus risk arrest

4)         whether or not you are likely to require accommodation

5)         which days you intend to participate (27th, 28th, any days of the student camp?)

 

If you intend to present a paper, please also supply an abstract to D.Webb@leedsmet.ac.uk, of 50-100 words, by 16th May 2007. You are welcome to send full papers before the event which we can upload onto our webpage (see http://www.faslane365.org/academics_and_scholars). Papers should be no longer than 4000 words.

If you have not already done so, please sign up to our email list to ensure you receive further information: send a blank email to faslane.academic.block-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.

 

The 2nd FAB conference is part of Faslane 365, a one-year continuous peaceful blockade of the Trident base at Faslane from 1st October 2006 to 30th September 2007. See http://www.faslane365.org. The Faslane 365 actions are entirely non-violent, respectful of people, and are part of the broader peace and global justice movement.

 

We look forward to seeing you on the 27th and 28th of June! The FAB Organisers: Stellan Vinthagen, Justin Kenrick, Jill Gibbon, Maud Bracke, Becka Kay, Catherine Eschle, Mark Blaxter and David Webb

Posted on by mklang

Libraries and Copyright

Copyright has a tendency to make library work difficult. This is a growing trend and many of the larger libraries in the world are struggling to come to terms with copyright issues.

Yesterday the EU’s High Level Expert Group on Digital Libraries – which includes, inter alia, stakeholders from the British Library, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, the Federation of European Publishers and Google – presented an advisory report on copyright issues to the European Commission.

The group also discussed how to ensure more open access to scientific research and how to improve public-private cooperation. The work of the High Level Group is part of the European Commission’s efforts to make Europe’s rich cultural and scientific heritage available online. For this purpose, the group advises the Commission on issues regarding digitisation, online accessibility and digital preservation of cultural material.

Read their Report on Digital Preservation, Orphan Works and Out-of-Print Works, Selected Implementation Issues available here and the annex Model agreement for a licence on digitisation of out of print works available here.

(EU Press Release)

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iCommons Summit

The third annual iCommons summit will be held in Dubrovnik, Croatia (15-17 June) and this year I have the good fortune to be able to attend.

The event includes people like Creative Commons CEO, Larry Lessig, CC Chairman and Digital Entrepreneur, Joi Ito, Wikipedia Founder, Jimmy Wales and CTO of Linden Labs, Cory Ondrejka. We have also add some new voices to the debate this year including Indiaâ??s Lawrence Liang who has become renowned for his considered commentary on the positive impact of piracy in developing countries, Jonathan Zittrain discussing themes from his new book â??The Future of the Internet and How to Stop Itâ??, Benjamin Mako Hill from MIT who will talk about competing visions of â??free cultureâ?? from the free software perspective, and Becky Hogge from the Open Rights Group, who will talk about successful campaigns to rid the world of restrictive IP laws.

I am really looking forward to it and to meeting all the other commoners. Naturally the event will be blogged 🙂

Posted on by mklang