Blogs

Last week I had the privilege of spending time with some members of our student Hacker Club. The goal of this discussion, one of many that we are having with many members and groups in our community, is to identify the digital ideas and innovations that hold the most promise for our institution.

On the Green Schools listserv, last week, there was some small discussion regarding how to coordinate sustainability efforts conducted by student groups with those undertaken by remunerated students, whether work/study or internship. Many campuses have paid student eco-reps, recycling coordinators and the like.

NYT headlines today reflect a mature understanding of the Internet. In the "Technology" section there are no articles on "technology" per se, for example semi-conductors, fiber optic cables or wireless access points. (The Times does cover these matters in its "Science" section anyway.) Rather, there are economic, legal, and social articles about technology.

UVenus Around the Web:

Melanie Klein, the originator of object relations theory, described early childhood relationships in terms of "splitting." (Bear in mind that what follows is a gross oversimplification.)

John Warner’s first novel, The Funny Man, was recently published by Soho Press. He teaches at the College of Charleston and is co-color commentator for The Morning News Tournament of Books.

A few years ago, I read a piece about airlines “bumping” passengers who had legitimate tickets. (I’ve never understood how it’s legal to sell the same seat twice, but that’s another post.) The article made the point that some central computer makes decisions that result in bumping, but that agents at counters have to deal with angry passengers, so over time, agents at counters started entering ‘dummy’ passengers with names like Mickey Mouse so they could outsmart the computer. Mickey Mouse wouldn’t yell at them if he got bumped. Over time, the computer compensated by overbooking even more.

My thoughts on the MLA President's statements on Reforming Doctoral Programs. I fear for lost generations of PhDs left behind.