Albert Borgmann, who has been described as as the most rigorous and original philosopher of technology in the world, says: "The world no longer has a central point, neither on this planet nor in the cosmos. Everyday life and especially festive occasions on earth still reveal traces and recollections of focal points, of the college we attended, the place we got married, the capital where a new president is installed. “It’s the universe that impresses radical pointlessness on us." And where do we go from there?
See http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v8i07_borgmann.html
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Cost of Monoculture
I don't know how much of this is true. I believed that South Korea was a leader in technology, till I read this.... .
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Reliability of Wikis
Theresa Clifford, “Is Wikipedia Part of a New ‘Global Brain’?” Spiked, 14 February 2007, http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2852/ raises some interesting questions about the reliability of wikis. "The internet is often celebrated for giving a voice to anybody and everybody. But in a world of wannabe journalists and self-appointed ‘experts’ on every subject, it’s worth asking whether these people know more (or even as much) as those established, apparently old-fashioned experts who came before them."
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Transforming Doctoral Education
Another interesting article about changing the nature of doctoral education. . . .
The University of Chicago announced a push Wednesday to significantly improve the stipends and benefits that doctoral students receive in the humanities and social sciences — with one goal being to speed up their time to Ph.D. completion.
Chicago will spend an additional $50 million over the next six years so that new graduate students in humanities and the social sciences are assured of five-year packages that will typically include, as a base package, tuition, a $19,000 annual stipend for living expenses, health insurance, and two summers of research support at $3,000 a summer. In comparison, current packages run four or five years, do not include summer research funds or (in most cases) health insurance, and feature a range of stipends from $4,000 to $18,000, with some students not receiving anything.
See the full essay at http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/08/chicago.
The University of Chicago announced a push Wednesday to significantly improve the stipends and benefits that doctoral students receive in the humanities and social sciences — with one goal being to speed up their time to Ph.D. completion.
Chicago will spend an additional $50 million over the next six years so that new graduate students in humanities and the social sciences are assured of five-year packages that will typically include, as a base package, tuition, a $19,000 annual stipend for living expenses, health insurance, and two summers of research support at $3,000 a summer. In comparison, current packages run four or five years, do not include summer research funds or (in most cases) health insurance, and feature a range of stipends from $4,000 to $18,000, with some students not receiving anything.
See the full essay at http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/08/chicago.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Renewable Degrees
This is kind of fun!
Volume 8, Issue 5
February 6, 2007 – February 12, 2007
THIS WEEK IN UBIQUITY: DEGREES THAT EXPIRE
M.O. Thirunarayanan suggests that by granting degrees that will expire (and thus need be renewed), institutions of higher learning can not only assure their own health but also the continued value of the people who have attended attend. Thirunarayanan is an associate professor of learning technologies in the College of Education and also a Fellow of the Honors College at Florida International University, in Miami, Florida. He earned his doctoral degree in 1990 from Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona.
See http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v8i05_degrees.html
Volume 8, Issue 5
February 6, 2007 – February 12, 2007
THIS WEEK IN UBIQUITY: DEGREES THAT EXPIRE
M.O. Thirunarayanan suggests that by granting degrees that will expire (and thus need be renewed), institutions of higher learning can not only assure their own health but also the continued value of the people who have attended attend. Thirunarayanan is an associate professor of learning technologies in the College of Education and also a Fellow of the Honors College at Florida International University, in Miami, Florida. He earned his doctoral degree in 1990 from Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona.
See http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v8i05_degrees.html
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