Monday, June 05, 2006

Nature and peer review. "Nature is undertaking a trial of a particular type of open peer review.In this trial,authors whose submissions to Nature are sent for peer review will also be offered the opportunity to participate in an open peer review process (see below for explanation).The trial is optional for authors;it will continue in parallel with Nature's usual procedures,and does not affect the likelihood of eventual publication of the submitted work.At the same time as the trial,Nature is running a web debate on peer review,to which we welcome comments from readers". Nature Peer Review Trial and Debate [Smart Mobs] 7:51:33 PM    comment []

Kornbluth's MySpace nightmare. Josh Kornbluth, the monologuist and KQED host, has posted an account of a Kafkaesque experience with MySpace that should give any operator of an online business pause. It seems that some malicious person posted a phony profile under Josh's name, filled the profile page with gross porn, and then sent Josh's superiors at KQED outraged emails demanding that he be fired. Josh's posting offers a painfully vivid account of how hard it can be to attempt to communicate directly with a company that has chosen to make itself unavailable to the public.  . . . [Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment] 7:51:07 PM    comment []

Sex Pistols Action Figures. Sex Pistols Action Figures: Via McChris, a pointer to two sets of Sex Pistols action figures by Japanese toy company, Kubrick Toys. One set features the best-known members of the band, and the second applies their aesthetic to a group of brightly-colored bears. ———- everyone wants to be punk…. even if they are plastic…. [Too many topics, too little time.] 7:50:45 PM    comment []

From Benton Headlines: INTERNET SURVEILLANCE PROVIDERS [SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff] [Commentary] The Bush Administration has opened talks with leading Internet providers and search engines about preserving their records. The Justice Department apparently wants Internet companies to keep two years' worth of data on where users go, what they search for and to whom they send e-mail. The ostensible purpose is to combat child pornography and terrorism. That's a laudable goal. It's not at all clear, however, that this plan would put more bad guys behind bars. It's more likely that the new troves of data would attract hackers or trial lawyers. But before Internet companies or lawmakers agree to this plan, the Justice Department should have to show that the change is needed to put more child pornographers and terrorists behind bars. How many cases, if any, have foundered because investigators had access to only a few months' worth of data rather than two years' worth? The benefits of the new approach may be questionable, but the risks are not. 2:49:17 PM    comment []

Back to the Bunker, by William Arkin, Wash Post. On a "continuity of government" exercise involving 4000 federal employees, to take place in two weeks (June 19). These exercises go beyond assuring Executive succession and control of nukes to include education and commodities futures trading and 29 other agencies. Arkin argues that the conception of "continuity" in policy now is defective: that it is too broad, and that we should not rely on a "bunker" mentality. 11:48:48 AM    comment []

It’s cute. It’s orange. It’s got bunny ears. An update on the One Laptop Per Child project, by Ethan Zuckerman. He's writing something for IEEE Spectrum, and is really keyed in to design and development decisions, and development and implementation challenges. This is the source for the latest if you're following the $100-dollar laptop (or one laptop per child) project. Oh: no hand crank. 8:48:20 AM    comment []

The Defense Information Systems Agency wants industry input on tools that could counter insider threats to Defense Department information systems -- "DISA seeks input on insider threat tools," by Bob Brewin, FCW. DISA said traditional efforts to secure networks focus on outside threats, but insiders pose an equally damaging threat. And they can access DOD networks without detection by the security systems. DISA, in a request for information released June 1 [1], said it is looking for an insider threat focused observation tool that could be deployed on selected host DOD machines to aggressively gather and analyze data on inside threats. . . . The agency would install the host machines on network end points and could be servers, desktop PCs or laptop PCs equipped with agent-based tools that can monitor insider network activity. The tool would collect data such as user IDs, computer type and the processes - e-mail clients, Web browsers, office management tools, database access - that monitored computers run. DISA said it wants tools that can then conduct user analysis on the collected data and warn of anomalies based on user profiles and behavior patterns. . . . [1] http://www.fbo.gov/spg/DISA/D4AD/DITCO/RFI418/listing.html 7:49:24 AM    comment []

Working-Class Students Increasingly End Up at Community Colleges, Giving Up on a 4-Year Degree, by Stephen Burd, CHE (subscription). Now that Ms. Fye has taken on debt, the prospect of taking on more loans to pursue a bachelor's degree frightens her. "I'd like to go to school to make life better," she says. "But I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my life, especially now that I have a child to take care of." With the price of four-year colleges increasingly out of reach for working-class students, more of them are turning to community colleges. Many see those institutions as offering a cost-effective way to jump-start their pursuit of a bachelor's degree — allowing them to fulfill their basic requirements at less-costly institutions before transferring to four-year colleges to complete their degrees. Policy makers are increasingly touting this pathway for low- and moderate-income students. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, responding to concerns about the declining purchasing power of Pell Grants, as expressed at an appropriations subcommittee hearing in March, said community colleges offered good values that could be covered by Pell Grants. To lower their costs, students could be "starting there rather than at a state university," she said. But some higher-education researchers believe it is irresponsible to promote such an approach, noting that fewer than half of all students who enroll in community colleges with the intention of transferring to a four-year college — like Ms. Fye — ever do. "The evidence is that students who start their college life at a two-year college are much less likely to end up with a bachelor's degree," says Michael S. McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation and a longtime commentator on student-aid issues. One must ask, "much less likely to end up with a bachelor's degree" than whom? According to the U.S. Education Department, more than 80 percent of full-time students at community colleges work. Over 40 percent of students at those institutions work 35 hours a week or more. All that work is extremely detrimental to the progress of those students, Ms. Weitz says, because they tend to become disengaged from their studies. "Students will come here and they'll run to class and then they'll run to the library to do an assignment, and then they've got to get into the car and go to work. And then, oh, by the way, they have a family," she says. "So that sense of engagement, that sense of focus, for many of them, is lost. And I think that's a major contributor as to why their completion rates are not as high." 7:48:14 AM    comment []