Information is My Business

Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals

Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, by Mark Bekoff and Jessica Pierce, is a study on the moral behaviors of non-human animals. The authors provide evidence that "animals possess empathy, compassion and a sense of justice, a moral code not unlike our own" for the reader to consider. As an owner of many dogs, it seems intuitive that moral decisions would be made dogs as they are compassionate and kind, which in my belief, leads to moral choices by dogs. The authors provide research that other non-human animals make these decisions. The book is interesting to read with examples of moral behaviors by non-human animals. In one study the Diana monkeys had to put tokens in a slot to receive food. When one elderly female could not put her token in the slot, another Diana monkey inserted the token for her.

It is nice to read of examples by humans and non-human animals, that show moral choices being made to help others in a positive manner. The authors provide evidence that extends the quantity of "good deeds" performed in the world. I am glad to have and know of the non-human animals moral reasoning. 

"What Facebook Can't Give You"

"What Facebook Can't Give You" is the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2009, D1, discusses an "old-fashioned social network". It is interesting from several perspectives. Called the "Wednesday 10" a group of men in their late 20's started meeting in 1957. There were approximately 20 men in the group. The reason for 20 was to ensure at least 10 individuals were able to attend the meetings. The concepts found in the article are useful today.

Now when we hear the concept of "social networking" it usually means online software that allows people to converse, share, show, discuss, etc, electronically online without a face to face meeting. Face to face meetings and talking with people are still extremely important and can't be replaced. A few highlights from the article are listed below.

1. The article highlights the need to remember people are also sources of information versus using only online sources.
2. The article demonstrates the value of face to face meetings.
3. The article shows how surrounding yourself with thinking outside your field and knowledge is valuable, "you don't learn anything from talking to sameness."
4. The article shows that times have changed. In 1957 the group was all men of white ethnicity. "In 1957 it didn't occur to us to include women....if we formed it today, it wouldn't occur to us not to include women." Hopefully, that goes for diverse populations as well.
5. There is nothing old fashion about calling and meeting with people, it is just plain smart and rewarding on many levels.

In my opinion, one key thought to keep in mind when social networking is discussed is it includes calling and meeting people. Not much replaces the value of human interaction when you hear and see other people.
 

"The Department of Mad Scientists" DARPA

The Department of Mad Scientists by Michael Belfiore is a glimpse into the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA's innovations lead to the internet and to GPS. The technologies that come out of DARPA are impactful to the world and keep the USA's military one of the most advanced in the world. I like how DARPA allows for innovation "you've got to fail some fraction of the time or you are not pushing the limits far enough." Interesting reading.

The Visual Miscellaneum

The Visual Miscellaneum by David McCandless is a great book if you like data visualized plus "a colorful guide to the world's most consequential trivia" which I admit I can't get away from.

The categories include thought, science, health, film, web, power,life, music, media and more followed by a visual chart. The "Dangers in Death" visual is interesting, as Mr. McCandless mentions "you're going to go one way. Which way?" "Low Resolution" shows the amount of sensory information reaching the brain per second compared to what technology is delivering. A good book to ponder over. He does give his sources for the graphs if you want to delve further.

Google Labs Living Stories: Online News

Google Labs has is experimenting with the New York Times, and the Washington Post on presenting news to online readers. Right now you have to click on the existing stories and can't input a query of your own. When you do click on a story it has a newspaper like feel to the layout with clustering of topics and a time-line. I tried "The Struggle Over Health Care" story and found the summary at top, time-line and clustering an easy to read format. It is in the development stage and so far it looks promising for the online reader. Google Living Stories

The one question I had was on the title "Living Stories." At first I thought it was a place for individuals to digitally record their stories. Time will tell if the name is changed or if it resonates with users.

Here is Google's summary."The Living Stories project is an experiment in presenting news, one designed specifically for the online environment. The project was developed by Google in collaboration with two of the country's leading newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post."

Google Display of URL's and Website Hierarchy Helps Search

Google is starting to roll out an improved display of the navigation used to land on a webpage. The searcher will be able to see keywords. Note the improvement it would add to the link below describing the new features. Perhaps something like  BlogGoogle>Search>URL Improvement

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-site-hierarchies-display-in-search.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FMKuf+%28Official+Google+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

World Bank Data added to Google Search

In Google's, this week in search round up,World Bank data has been added to search. Examples from Google are listed below.  This is a useful when looking for statistics and comparisons across countries. Google currently has 17 World Development Indicators available in a Google search.

"Adding World Bank data to search

We have added World Bank data to search. This makes finding global facts like life expectancy, electricity use and birth rates a lot faster and easier. The Public Data feature also lets you make comparisons across countries. Here's what the feature looks like when it appears in your search results:

Example searches: the worlds life expectancy, electricity use germany"

From Google official blog.

A Collection of Social Network Stats for 2009

Here is a collection of stats on social networks. Jeremiah Owyang collected the aggregation of statistics and reminds us no one single metric is a good indicator, it is important to look from different perspective and sources. One that stood out from his perspective is that blogs and social media are now the "4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email." This gives direction to SMBs and entrepreneurs who are using social media for some, if not all, of their marketing. 

Social network stats 2009  

Thanks to Barbie Keiser for the resource.

Small Business Development Center - a Few Business Links for Class

Hi All,

Here are some of the links that might be useful to you. We will cover some in class and others are for you to explore.

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Lifelong Learning, Information Literacy BC (or Beyond College)

I have been asked why I work with adults out of college on information literacy training. I am officially (okay I know am the only official at this point) coining this group "Information Literacy BC" or "IL BC". There are several solid factual reasons which I have listed below, plus I simply love working with this group of adults. Here are some facts on the classes I teach.

The ages range from mid 20's to mid 80's. These trainings have been topic specific,such as using IL BC to find jobs, or for small to medium sized business owners to grow their business. Classes also include general IL techniques with a focus on the specific information needs of the group. The needs of IL BC learners are different than a college student and different within stages of their life. For example, IL BC learners don't need to cite their work (such as APA, MLA) in a format that is required for scholarly work in college. What they do need to know is how to "cite" in their world. These include bookmarking on a home PC, saving information to a USB stick in a library, or social bookmarking to find again and share with others. They have a need to Conclude their information literacy quest (conclude is C in IN PFAC, a model used for adults needing IL BC) which includes different ways to "cite", save, share what they find. See previous post on IN PFAC for more details of this model for lifelong learners.

Why Offer Information Literacy Training for adults Out of College (BC or Beyond College)?

1. Adults  average approximately 73% of their life beyond college and in need of education in varying stages of their life  (2009 life expectancy estimate is 78.1 years for adults 16-65 years in the United States, ("Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine").
2. Most working people will make numerous career changes during their lifetime of employment that require further education.
3. Individuals who are not in the paid "work world" still have information needs or questions and need quality information.
   
4. A healthy democratic society requires literate citizenry to take “advantage of educational opportunities, manage their finances, participate in government, secure jobs, manage health care and make choices that otherwise affect their lives.” (The Aspen Initiative)