Knowledge Handler

Information Sources & Information Sifting Techniques

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Location: Independence, Ohio, United States

I am a retired librarian, most recently serving at Indiana Wesleyan University's Cleveland Education Center.

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

College Costs

Burd et al. review the difficulty in decoding the cost of college . The US Department of Education has created a template which few schools use.

For more information, check Goldie Blumenstyk's column in the Chronicle of Higher Education. -DD

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Monday, July 30, 2018

Chat Apps

Rick Broida reviews 7 chat apps .

-DD

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Saturday, July 28, 2018

Photoshop for iPad

Johnny Evans cites a story from Gurman and Grant about how Adobe is re-writing its prime productivity app, Photoshop, for the iPad.

-DD

Friday, July 27, 2018

Phone Camera Technology

Mike Elgan praises the multitude of roles that camera sensors play in modern smartphone apps .

Elgan notes, "Already, smartphone cameras can identify and provide additional information about whatever we point them at. They enable us to harvest visual data from, and see augmented reality objects placed in, the real world. Front-facing cameras can improve security through face recognition" (para. 28). Elgan notes that cameras with multiple lenses are now the norm, and the number of sensors will only increase with apps such as Camfind and Photomath. -DD

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Texas May Exceed California in Population Size by 2045

Brian Wang projects that the population of Texas may exceed that of California by 2045 .

-DD

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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Consumer Technology and Library Services

Scott Livingston of OCLC explains how consumer technology such as Alexa and chat software may change the way users seek information .

-DD

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Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Presenting Learning Objects Effectively

The Center for Advanced Special Technologies (CAST) has developed the Universal Design for Learning framework , which offers guidance for lesson and resource creation for those with diverse learning modalities and strengths.

-DD

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Monday, July 23, 2018

Capital Letters Equated With Angry Shouts

William Germano muses on the use of CAPITAL LETTERS to communicate emphasis or anger.

-DD

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Sunday, July 22, 2018

Boost Online Sales

Jim Yu suggests that web advertising embrace mobile devices and highlight user reviews .

-DD

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Saturday, July 21, 2018

Is Electric Shock Therapy Excessive Discipline?

Emily Shugerman reports that special needs students are being disciplined with electric shocks in Massachusetts.

-DD

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Friday, July 20, 2018

Economics and Rideshare Driving

Chen et al. (2017) developed a working paper on the value of work flexibility as deduced from studying UBER drivers. The study was funded by the the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). A 2018 NBER working paper on gender and rideshare drivers, written by Cook et al., was summarized by Miranda Moore in The Washington Post.

-DD

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Australia's "My Health Record"

Ariel Bogle reports on the security of Australian's "My Health Record ."

-DD

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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Smartphones Are Ubiquitous

P. J. Bednarski reports that smartphones are becoming as ubiquitous as television, with 87% of households have at least one.

-DD

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Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Multipoint Instruction

Jacqueline Burger and Damon Hunnicutt identify Bucks County Community College as a leader in multi-campus course instruction . The College has developed an audiovisual infrastructure able to provide engaging lectures and interaction in numerous locations.

-DD

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Monday, July 16, 2018

Origin of the Word "Quiltbag"

Allan Metcalf explores the queer origins of the word quiltbag .

-DD

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Sunday, July 15, 2018

Cities Where Jobs Abound

Matt Alderton cites a report from Monster.com indicating that the biggest U.S. cities are where work is available .

-DD

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Saturday, July 14, 2018

Social Media Can Poison Discourse

J. Robinson expresses concern that social media is dividing us into contending tribes.

-DD

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Friday, July 13, 2018

Graph Databases

Serdar Yegulalp explains graph database technology.

-DD

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Thursday, July 12, 2018

How Public Libraries Communicate

OCLC has released a report exploring how public libraries communicate. Findings include:

  • 96% use social media;
  • 84% post photos, videos, or library information on social media;
  • 70% send email messages;
  • 40% have a communications strategy, but only 17% say it's current;
  • 71% say they don’t have the necessary staff resources;
  • 25% have marketing professionals on staff.

-DD

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Obesity Across Generations

Kashmira Gander reports on a Harvard University study which shows that the mother's diet may be a cause of her child's obesity. I suspect that epigenetic activity may be responsible.

-DD

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Tuesday, July 10, 2018

The Future of Higher Education

Jeffrey Selingo shares the vision Georgia Tech projects for the future of higher education. In summary:

  1. The University will serve the student for their lifetime.
  2. The University will provide lifetime coaching and advising.
  3. The University will have a worldwide presence.

-DD

Monday, July 09, 2018

Writing Style and Idioms

Ann Curzan muses on writing style and idioms.

-DD

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Sunday, July 08, 2018

Syrian Christians

Jayson Casper reports that Mideast Christians look to Russia as their defender - not the West.

-DD

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Saturday, July 07, 2018

The Orange Glow of the Computer Monitor

Amber Case suggests that web interfaces should have orange hues for better human health. It appears that blue or blue-white light can trigger health problems such as sleeplessness and obesity.

I can remember decades ago when European nations mandated that CRT monitors used orange as the most healthy color.

-DD

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Friday, July 06, 2018

Tim Berners-Lee and Individual Freedom

Katrina Brooker interviewed Tim Berners-Lee, the scientist who helped develop the standards of the Internet. Now that half of the world population has some type of Internet access, Berners-Lee expresses anger at how the technology has been used:

...the Web had failed instead of served humanity, as it was supposed to have done, and failed in many places. [The increasing centralization of the Web] ended up producing—with no deliberate action of the people who designed the platform—a large-scale emergent phenomenon which is anti-human.
Berners-Lee expresses concern about the growth of both Internet firms and government agencies that eliminate individual's privacy or promote hidden agendas.

Berners-Lee is now working on technologies for decentralizing information, including software called Solid. Disciples are developing protocols to create a Web of Trust, such as ActivityPub.

-DD

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Thursday, July 05, 2018

BitCoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

Matthew Frankel reports that Warren Buffett is a critic of cryptocurrencies .

-DD

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Wednesday, July 04, 2018

Coffee as a Medication

Kashmira Gander reports in Newsweek on UK research indicating that moderate coffee drinking can have both positive and negative effects on the human body.

Gander notes that:

Past studies have indicated an inverse association between drinking coffee and the risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s and cancers of the liver, bowel, colon and endometrium. But evidence also suggests caffeine could cause high blood pressure or heart attacks in those who find it tough to metabolize.
Gander says that safe consumption is typically defined as less than six cups a day, though there are genetic differences in humans which make some people more or less sensitive to caffeine. Those drinking more coffee still seem to live longer than their peers who abstain.

Coffee drinking may correlate with health without causing health. My thought is that those whose lifestyle includes daily drinking many cups of coffee may have other significant lifestyle factors which tend to be present among those they are not about to die. For example, it can be inferred that heavy coffee consumption means that an individual has significant disposable income. Or coffee consumption may be a by-product of an active social life, or consumed to "power through" tasks that provides a sense of purpose.

-DD

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What Does It Mean to Be a "Christian Nation"

Mark Galli, Editor of Christianity Today, for July 4th reviews the claim that the United States is a Christian nation .

Galli's response in his final paragraph is sharp:

But let us not proclaim that we are a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. That is a lie—one might even call it a blasphemy. America is a great and terrible nation, like so many others (“terrible” meaning having done dreadful things but also “formidible in nature”). Let us continue to love it, as we love our flawed families and friends. Let us continue to serve it as God leads us to. Let us continue to reform it, as has been the practice of every generation. And most of all, let us continue to pray for it, that God would continue to have mercy on us and on our children, and on our children’s children to the third and fourth generation.

-DD

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Tuesday, July 03, 2018

Online College Students Report

The Online College Students report indicates that:

  1. 85 percent of students feel that online is as good or better than an onsite course.
  2. Online students need career services.
  3. Online students use mobile technology.
  4. Students want more majors offered.

-DD

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Monday, July 02, 2018

Solitude

Zat Rana suggests that the ability to use solitude is very important for knowledge workers.

-DD

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Sunday, July 01, 2018

Top Travel Worries

Loren Edelstein lists the concerns of travelers .

-DD

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