Reading Assignment #5

The last reading report is titled “The End of Privacy” which was written by Daniel Solove, and published in Scientific American in September of 2008.  The article begins discussing the famous “Star Wars Kid” who became famous on accident because of a video that went viral all over the internet of the kid trying to choreograph the moves from the movie “Star Wars” and ends up tripping and falling.  It explains that with the internet if one person shoots it, the whole world can view it, if the video is ever in the wrong hands and uploaded to the internet.

The article next focuses on what Solove calls the kids growing up today “Generation Google” because kids could practically “Google” everything they need to know.  He discusses how before the internet was created and became popular gossip spread through word of mouth, and now it can be spread over the internet which reaches a wider audience.  Certain examples he uses is a web site called “Don’t Date Him Girl” which allows women to post complaints about the men they have dated with their real names and photos.  Solove also mentions that now everyone can trace your activity and compromise your privacy.  Anyone from your credit card agency to government agencies.  

The next section of the article discusses how reputations can be damaged now because with the openness of the internet information is stored virtually forever on it.  “Generation Google” members might be limited because of something they did years ago might end up arising again later in life and affecting them career wise.

The remainder of the article talks about if and how we can get our privacy back.  Solove tells about the changes of Facebook over the years, and argues that it is not really privacy that is being violated but the ease of accessibility of personal information.  He claims that this issue can be fixed with changes in laws like in Canada and Europe.

The article does hit many good points.  However, trying to control privacy and crack down on the accessibility is not going to be easy and probably virtually impossible.  We, the United States, let it get out of control and now it may be to late to fix the problem.  I agree with Solove that we are in a generation now where privacy is no longer a luxury we have and we have to be careful because something posted now on the internet could destroy us later on in life.  Something that started off being created for fun, like Facebook, has turned into a disaster for people who want privacy.  In some ways our society ask for it, but in others, the government should have stepped in to help counteract the problem, like in other countries.

Extra Credit UNCW Professor's Research

Daniels, Karen A., et al.  “Learning to diminish the effects of proactive interference:  Reducing false memory for young   and older adults.”  Memory & Cognition 38.6 (2010): 820-829.  Web of Knowledge.  Web.  15 Nov. 2010.

The purpose for this research was to determine whether PI (Proactive Interference) could be reduced by providing test subjects with numerous experiences dealing with PI.  PI is the reduction in memory performance for recently learned information resulting from the prior learning of related materials.  The article itself produces results from two experiments with proactive interference effects on young and older adults.  The test subjects were given two rounds of experience, with different materials, in a situation that produced PI.  The authors then compared with control conditions which showed that the effects of PI on accuracy and high-confidence intrusion errors (false memory) were reduced on the second round, as compared with those on the first.  

The goal of the experiments was to determine whether PI could be reduced by providing test subjects with multiple experiences dealing with PI.  Past experiments have never attempted to examine whether people can adapt their processing to diminish the effects of PI.  The results of Experiment 1 showed that PI did diminish effects for both ages of adults.  Experiment 2 was conducted to gain insight into the means by which experience with PI allowed participants to diminish its effects.

The article gives data information on the results of each experiment with a detailed description of the results.  48 young and 48 old adults participated in the experiments to help with maximize the results of each experiment, so to allow a low margin of error or bias.  This article and experiment is valuable to people in the psychology field and health field.  This test allows researchers to better determine the cause of memory loss in young adults vs. old adults.  It can also help give better insight into Alzheimer's disease, and how the brain reacts to pulling information out.  These experiments may sound minor, but the overall effect the results have can help in many ways, not just with psychology and health.  Criminologists can examine if people who have high PI are more likely to be criminals or vise verse.

Dixon, Richard D., Roger Lowery, Lloyd P. Jones.  “The Fact and Form of Born-Again Religious Conversions and Sociopolitical Conservatism.”  Review of Religious Research 34.2 (1992):  117-131.  Web of Knowledge.  Web.  15 Nov 2010.

This article is a report that attempts to distinguish Christian Protestant born agains from each other and to determine if the distinction is reliable when examining influences on a composed index of sociopolitical conservatism.  The results are from 287 white Protestant adult residents in a county located in the Southeastern U.S.  The experiment was conducted through telephone interviews.  The goal is to show relevance of the distinction between two forms of born-again religious conversion and the relationship between born-again status and sociopolitical conservatism.

The interview was conducted at random.  Data was collected by white adults 18 or older, during six weekday evenings in mid-November and early December 1989. The test subjects were all ask a series of questions from a list of 54 questions listed.  To gather the 287 subjects, during the phone interview the first question that is always asked is “What is your religious preference?”  Only the subjects who answered Protestant were asked to answer specific questions.  The other subjects were released and the researchers found new subjects until they reached 287.  

As stated in the report, the results revealed four important findings.  1) That born-gain Protestants elicited affirmative responses from both types of born-agains; 2) whether or not a white Protestant is born again has a significant influence on sociopolitical conservatism, but how one is born again, whether suddenly or gradually, does not.  3) when submitted to multivariate analysis, born-again status loses its sailence as an independent influence on sociopolitical conservatism; and 4) other religious variables tapping fervor correlate at the multivariate level with sociopolitical conservatism.

This report is useful to people in the sociology field and the political science field.  It is important because it tells us a significant amount of information about political views in one county, the race in that county, and how it influences their families in the area.

Lanier, Christina.  “Structure, Culture, and Lethality:  An Integrated Model Approach to American Indian Suicide and Homicide.”  Sage Journals.  14.1  (2010):  72-89.  Web of Knowledge.  Web.  15 Nov 2010.

This article investigates lethal violence in the United States on American Indians.  Most investigations that are done in the criminology field seem to primarily focus on whites and/or African Americans.  Statistics already show that homicide and suicide rates among American Indians are already higher than other racial/ethnic groups within the United States.  This report also attempts to understand the lethal violence patterns associated with American Indians.

The data that was used was from the mortality data for American Indians was obtained from the Indian Health Service Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics.  The data provides the total homicide and suicide counts for American Indians in all U.S. counties.  Analyses is run on area instead of each individual county to determine factors such as poverty level, single-home families, married families, crime.  All these factors could play a potential part in determining the most accurate results.

The results of the report found that lethal violence was found to increase in counties where the economic status of American Indians was lower.  The lack of economic resources and options for employment result in an increase of actions or violence.  The higher the level of poverty and unemployment, the higher the aggression American Indians have directed at others.  The results as stated in the report support the argument of previous research that lethal violence are often not racially invariant, and researchers should consider the possibility of variations across groups when examining lethal violence.

This report and research is the most helpful to people in the criminology field.  This helps examine lethal violence in a minority racial/ethnic group.  With this information, criminologists can help determine the causes and if they lead to crimes being committed as a result of this happening.  Sociologists can also use this information, but only to determine how it would effect families and children as they grow up.  Would they be more prone to be subject to lethal violence because of what happen early in their childhood?

Extra Credit Mobile Device

Reviewing the library's mobile device brought a few issues I found.  I currently have the new iphone 4 and scrolled through the site.  The site was easy to use and quick to load, but I was on a 3G network so I do not know how it would load over a normal network.  The visual appeal is not there; it is just a plain site with UNCW colors and a few tabs.  The computer availability tab needs to be improved because it is not being updated regularly.  It showed the last time it was updated was last night, November 8th at 7:11pm.  Another problem I have is it is only showing the availability of just the PC's in the library.  It needs to show the availability of all the equipment you can check out.  The tab also doesn't say if it is the PC's that you can check out or the ones that are in the front of Randall that you can just walk up to and use.

Under the News and Events tab, instead of having the top or newest news, I would suggest you just use all the titles of the news with links you can click on to take you to that article.  It saves room and allows you to put more news and events into that tab.  The last suggestion that comes to mind is rename the "Get Help" tab and add "Contact Us" into it.  The "Get Help" tab suggests that one needs help with the site.

I hope these suggestions help with the improvement with the mobile site.  I am sure as time goes by it will continue to grow and get better.

News Report #5

First Look at RockMelt, a Browser Built For Facebook Freaks by Michael Calore written on November 7, 2010 is the fifth news report that I found.  (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/first-look-at-rockmelt-a-browser-built-for-facebook-freaks/)

Michael Calore discusses the new web browser, RockMelt, that is being introduced by Facebook.  There have been rumors of Facebook creating a browser and November 7 is the release of the limited public beta.  Both founders, CEO Eric Vishria and CTO Tim Howes, demonstrated RockMelt to Wired a few days before the beta was released.

The uniqueness of this browser is that it is based on Google’s Chromium, so it includes Chrome’s features such as it’s speed, look, and functionality.  It is also offered for both Mac and Windows so it is not tied down to just one group of PC users.  

Even though RockMelt is made by Facebook, Calore explains that the browser is not exactly a Facebook browser, but does allow users to post links, videos and status updates to both Facebook and Twitter for right now, but they hope to expand the browsers capabilities.  The most impressive feature the browser has is what is on the sides of the window browser.  

The left side has the users picture at the top, and their friends they interact with the most appear in a list below.  To send a tweet or update your Facebook, you click on your picture, similar to how Facebook works.  To send your friend a message or chat with them you click their photo; again similar to Facebook.

The right side of the browser window has small icons for each of the services RockMelt tracks for you, which like was stated earlier is only Facebook and Twitter.

The uniqueness of the browser is interesting to me, and appears on the surface like a great idea.  With that being said, I do not know how well it will catch on.  The marketing, even for the beta, has not been widely publicized, and other browsers similar to this one that have appeared, such as Flock, the Myspace version, never caught on.  Hopefully, with some testing and especially marketing they can compete with the dominating Internet Explorer web browser, especially with Google on board.  Along with competing with other web browsers they can make the other features Google offers more popular.

NEWS REPORT #4

The fourth News Report that I discovered was titled Ban Violent Books from Prison Libraries, Urges Connecticut State Senator by Beverly Goldberg from the American Libraries web site, posted on October 12, 2010. (http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/10122010/ban-violent-books-prison-libraries-urges-connecticut-state-senator?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AmericanLibrariesMagazine+%28American+Libraries+Magazine+Top+News%29)

This article by Beverly Goldberg discusses the removal of books containing graphic violence from Connecticut prison-library collections.  The out cry for this to happen occurred October 6th when a guilty verdict came back on two defendants in the murder of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, her two daughters Hayley and Michaela, and the brutal beating of their husband and father William Petit.

During the trial in the summer, there had been discussion about what Steven Hayes, the defendant, had been reading while serving time for a prior conviction.  The titles were never disclosed because of a motion his defense team made in court keeping the reading list private.

Senator John Kissel and Department of Corrections Commissioner Leo Arnone confirmed that the corrections department would revise the prison-library policy to prohibit books with materials with graphic and violent language and make the library a place to meet the educational, informational, and recreational needs of the inmates.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy executive director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom states that somebody that is moved to commit a crime has much more going on in their lives than simply having read a few comic books or a novel.  However, the “Prisoners’ Right to Read” interpretation of ALA’s Library Bill of Rights acknowledges that prison libraries may be required by law to prohibit certain books that instructs, incites, or advocates criminal action.

At the end of the article it tell about how in South Carolina, there is a detention center that does not allow inmates to read anything except the Bible.  This has run into a lawsuit that looks to overturn this decision.  

I think that the prison center should have the ultimate authority over what prisoners can read and what is in their libraries.  Prisoners, unlike regular citizens, no longer have the rights they would normally have because they gave up them rights when they committed a crime and was sentenced to prison.  With that being said though, I think prisons like the one in South Carolina has taken it to the extreme, prisoners should be allowed to read educational books, or books about jobs.  Prison is a punishment but also a rehabilitation center to try and prepare inmates for release to the outside world.  Educational books that teach prisoners certain jobs and traits will help further push rehabilitation.  With prisons preventing prisoners from reading anything but the Bible, they are not pushing their main goal.  This needs to be corrected in order to help prevent the prisoner from becoming a repeat offender.  

Reading Assignment #4

The fourth reading assignment given to us was about the situation with students and the online databases offered at universities.  Steven Bell, the author, discusses issues and solutions to these problems that have arisen since Google was created.  Many students still use Google as their major source of information when doing research of any kind, whether it is for a paper, or for a project.  

The article describes using Google as a form of infobesity, the excessive amount of information returned from a search on a topic, that may not even be relevant to the topic someone searched for.  It states that students need to change this and start going on an infodiet, using the aggregator databases offered at the universities.  The reason for students not using the databases offered to them by the university library according to the article is because of the difficulty of the databases.  Most students either do not know, do not want to know, or just do not care about how to use library databases, when they can simply Google something and get instant results, no matter how relevant the results are.  

Steven Bell states that the solution to this is to make the aggregator databases from the library as simple as Google.  Most students today seem to want results right away without having to figure out a new search engine or database, so by making it more like Google, this could help boost the use of these databases.  However, the problem that has occurred is that the companies who own these databases are more focused on the amount of information their database has, so they can appeal to more libraries, rather than the ease of the database, so they can appeal to more students.  Money is the only concern for database companies, which is the reason they have not attempted to make their search engines any easier.  

Another solution that Bell suggested is that faculty must be more involved with the students using the libraries databases forcing them to use it when doing a research project or paper.  If the faculty requires this of students, this could also help boost the use of the databases.

The article brought up really good points and could not have been any more right.  Students already have a large amount of work to contend with throughout the year, and with the free time they do have, they do not feel like having to learn how to use an entire new search engine that is more difficult to use than Google.  As long as the databases the libraries use are as complicated as they are, students will continue to neglect it and go with Google.  Another issue that needs to be addressed, that the article did not discuss, is the advertisement of these databases that the library offers.  Many students do not realize that the library offers these databases for free to students, and it is not highly advertised around campus or in the library.  If it is advertised more, students would have more knowledge of it and probably be more prone to use it.

Reading Assignment #3

Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries is an article posted that speaks about the advantages of libraries and how the popularity of libraries may come back in a wave.  The topics the article briefly discusses is libraries getting in fights, librarians know stuff, libraries will give you things for free, open to the public, and good will.

Libraries getting in fights discusses that funding battles occur between libraries and the struggles over sharing information with each other exist.  This section tried to appeal to people by saying that libraries do have sparks of interesting events and it is not all boring.  Librarians know stuff suggests that being a “geek” or “nerd” is no longer a bad thing and does not mean you are not cool.

The green and local section is about how much libraries help with the environment and recycle and use recycled things.  Another section informs us that libraries give you movies and books for free, all you have to do is check it out.  The open to the public section is of course exactly what it says that anyone can go to a library, and it is interesting to see what kind of people go to libraries and the drama you will see while you are there.  Lastly, the goodwill section discusses about the warmth and welcoming atmosphere libraries have.

Even though this is a short article it does try to touch on different aspects of libraries to try to appeal to a wide variety of individuals.  The article is well written, and brings up good points to try an convince people that libraries still exist, they still are interesting and still are exciting.  The author also explains that just by going to the library does not make you uncool because you are smart and that today’s society does not look down on people like that anymore.

“The Library of the future’ begins to emerge” article spoke about how much libraries are changing to suit how society has changed and is constantly changing.  Some libraries are already adjusting to the times, but others are yet to take the leap into the new era of technology.  David Loertscher, a professor at San Jose State University believes libraries will not become obsolete, just reinvent itself.  

The article suggests that librarians will start working predominately online, going to students who need help, and making suggestions.  Libraries will also allow users to download information and technology 24/7.  Even though most of the information will be online, libraries will still exist.  They will still have books, and in addition have other areas such as computer-training centers, conference rooms, study group rooms, etc. because of the space they will have from taking away the majority of books and other forms of information.  In addition, they will start what UNCW has, which is self-check out  and check in on books, movies, etc.

I think what is being explained in the article will eventually occur.  Libraries and librarians need to move with the times and what is coming in the future.  Most people find most of their information online through search engines.  By having librarians online, it will help influence people to go to the online library for help because they can get one on one contact with an actual person who can help them search for information and give them ideas to help with whatever research they are looking for.  This is something search engines do not provide and probably never will.  It has been proven of the success of libraries going digital and making it more of a “at home feel” by how well Santa Clara County Library is doing.