Archive | February, 2009

Do you feel lucky?

27 Feb

dice

Is Britain a nation of optimists or pessimists – a new report may surprise you – but that obviously depends on your point of view!

The report presents the first findings of research conducted by the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) into the nature of optimism in 21st century Britain.

A few choice snippets from the Executive Summary …

Britain is an optimistic nation – 21% of people see themselves as being generally optimistic with a further 54% being generally optimistic but also feeling pessimistic about some things

British optimism – a large proportion of poll respondents also agreed that Britishness was characterised by a pessimistic ‘mustn’t grumble’ attitude and  … to play down achievements and to engage in rather self-deprecating behaviours.

Optimists attract – Over 50% preferred the company of optimists compared with a mere 3% who were more attracted to pessimists

The role of the media – 53% of poll participants agreeing with the statement ‘I think that TV and newspapers encourage me to have a more negative outlook on life’.

The SIRC Optimism Spectrum

  • Realist (24%): I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but simply realistic about the good and bad things in my life
  • Concrete optimist (19%): I am optimistic, but I am realistic about the possible outcomes of events
  • Cautious optimist (18%): I am optimistic, but I am careful not to be complacent about my good fortune
  • Situational optimist (15%): My levels of optimism/pessimism change from situation to situation
  • Fatalist (6%): I accept that essentially I can’t change what’s going to happen to me, whether it’s good or bad
  • Individualist (3%): I believe that essentially I have control over what’s going to happen to me, whether it’s good or bad
  • Pessimist (3%): I am generally pessimistic, whatever the circumstances
  • Contagious optimist (2%): I am always optimistic, and my optimism spreads to those around me
  • Unabashed optimist (2%): I am always very optimistic, whatever the circumstances

But why the picture of dice at the top of the page? Well the research was commissioned by the National Lottery – perhaps they are trying to see if we would like to play the lottery more.

So to undertake a wholly unscientific survey – would you like to sample more academic Internet resources about optimism or pessimism?

Intute: Social Sciences features more Internet resources on Social Perception and Cognition, the National Lottery and the Sociology of Emotions.

Image credit: Dice Another Day from topher76 on Flickr under a CC license.

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Sound like a good education?

25 Feb

Will audio podcasts improve your grades or help you learn about the financial crisis?

A recent study from the journal Computers and Education (DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2008.11.004) compared student performance with and without the supplement of an audio podcast of the lecture, concluding that:

Results indicated that students in the podcast condition who took notes while listening to the podcast scored significantly higher than the lecture condition.

While some of the reaction in the blogosphere has focussed on the death of the lecture or a move to an iPod based University – the reality is that this study seems to back-up what I have gleaned from talking to learning technologist colleagues of mine – that blended learning (technology as a part, not the whole of the process) is best for the broadest array of students and for improving learning outcomes.

The Oxbridge universities certainly seem to be sparring in audio form with the University of Oxford recently celebrating their 500,000th audio download via iTunes and the University of Cambridge producing an interesting take on the global financial crisis.

It explores the credit crunch from an interdisciplinary perspective – how the crude use of historical analogies can cloud our understanding of the credit crunch, how hormones can affect the decision-makers who control the global financial system and how the breakdown in trust is threatening the world’s financial stability.

Download:

But you don’t have to go to university to get up to speed on the financial crisis – Open Culture have brought together a nice list of blogs and podcasts on the crisis, which I would supplement with the VOX Talks series and Global Crisis Debate from VoxEU.

Intute: Social Sciences features more podcasts of interest to academics, as well as an archive of podcast related blog posts.

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Are MPs Mostly Pontificating online?

24 Feb

It appears that politicians are forgetting the Social part of Social Media.

A new report from the Hansard Society – MPs Online: Connecting with constituents – has found that while most politicians are now using the Web, it is “often in passive ‘send’ mode with few MPs exploiting their full interactive potential” ie they are using new technology, to communicate in an old way, top down, broadcast style, rather than in a social or conversational manner.

So while some of the raw statistics in the report show that things are heading in the right direction:

  • 92% of MPs use email
  • 83% of MPs have a personal website
  • 23% of MPs use social networking
  • 11% of MPs blog

… how politicians are using these services, becomes the crucial question.

TweetMinister the directory of twittering politicians has issued a rapid rebuttal of the report, highlighting that Twitter is being used by 4% of MPs and yet was not mentioned by the report once.

There are some potential lessons for MPs from those in government, where the use of Social Media appears to be on the rise.

The 10 Downing Street site is greatly improved – compare via the Wayback Machine.

The London Summit website is getting good reviews, but alas seems to be struggling to cope with the attention.

The Power of Information Taskforce Report encouraged public comments by publishing a Beta version of the report online.

… and the recent Digital Britain report didn’t have an easy way of offer comments online, so one was set-up through unofficial channels instead.

Intute: Social Sciences features more Internet resources on political communication or follow Intute: Politics on Twitter.

A Bakers Dozen of Practical Podcasting Tips

17 Feb

Beware the audio phile – audio recording can get very involved – feedback from those who spend weeks mastering a track may not be relevant – ask yourself is this good enough for someone listening on an iPod or at their PC?

Beware the audio file – investigate the quality settings on your chosen recording / editing software – in general record in as a high a quality as possible, mix it down so that final file sizes are about 1MB per minute for the audio.

One voice or two – listening to a monologue can be monotonous over an extended period of time. It is much easier on the ear to listen to a conversation, preferably with a male and female voice.

Be natural – use your normal voice while recording, as any affectation will be picked up by the sound recording and will be difficult for you to maintain over time, so get used to the sound of your recorded voice. Pause, don’t ummm.

Prepare for your podcast – either script every word or have a detailed running order for your recording and notes of what you want to say, as this enables you to concentrate on your delivery.

Read it out loud – words that make sense on a page, may not do so when read out loud. Keep sentences short. Allow for breathing. Similar sounds seem silly in the same space. Check it by reading it out loud yourself.

Sound quality – record the best quality sound you can, use a pop filter if you are recording at a desk, be careful where you place the microphone and avoid setting your recording level too high as the sound will clip or distort.

Music – fade in/outs, stingers between segments and a theme tune can make your podcast sound more professional, but will add to the editing time. Resist the temptation to use a track from your favourite album, as you don’t own the copyright.

Be aware of your environment – a high ceiling in a large open room will create an echo, similarly a small bathroom will produce sound reflections, so scout your potential locations in advance and take a test recording.

Noise is everywhere – there is a lot of ambient noise in the world around us that we get used to – computers whirring away, traffic going past etc. – this may be useful colour in some podcasts e.g. a sound-seeing tour, but not for others.

Practice with your equipment – don’t waste your own time by not knowing how to work your recorder, or by setting the level on your microphone is too high, know how your kit works.

Take two – try to get more than one take of a recording, as this gives you more choices while editing. Re-recording later will be very tricky, as you won’t match the sound levels exactly.

Test your results – the sound levels on your PC or recording kit are not the same as those elsewhere – once you have a finished a recording, listen to it on another PC or an mp3 player to see if it sounds OK.

Further Reading

Secrets of Podcasting / Bart G. Farkas ISBN: 0321369297
Podcasting Hacks / Jack D. Herrington ISBN 0596100663
Podcasting for Learning in Universities / Gilly Salmon ISBN 0335234291

Online resources

The Science of Listener Attention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCWdIRgPXsg#t=6m06s

My Podcasting life … or the reverse Obama effect

http://www.slideshare.net/cfbloke/podcast-presentation-775791

Intute: Social Sciences podcast archive

http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/podcast/

Delicious links on podcasting

http://delicious.com/cfbloke/podcasts

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Friends, fans, followers … lend me your clicks

9 Feb

Recently the issue of digital identities has been invading my consciousness  – not so much what do we mean by an online friend, but how do we acquire or stumble into different groups of people online – so I thought that I’d do an inventory of the various Web 2.0 sites and the groups that have coalesced round me.

Facebook – possibly my least favourite Web 2.0 app – I can’t say that I have ever had a period when I was really into it – the creeping agglomeration of personal information about me and the very closed walls somehow discourage me from doing any social networking there – however the reality is that it is the big beast on the block, the friends are all people that I know and there are people there, who I’m not in contact with any other way.

Twitter – possibly my favourite Web 2.0 app – it has disarmed me into sending message to complete strangers – or at least those that choose to follow me first – even the term – follower – is light-touch and non-threatening – in the beginning I weeded out people I did not know, whereas now only an easy to spot spammer or marketeer will get blocked – I only know 20% of my followers in real life, but I’ve interacted online with a much higher proportion of them thanks to Twitter.

Delicious – there was quite a long time when I did not even realise that there were networking features on Delicious! But I eventually discovered my network and the fact that I had fans! A lovely phrase and a complement in that these people seem to think that what I’m bookmarking is worth watching – while I know about half my network there, the fact that strangers like what I come across, makes me feel good.

Flickr – there’s a real point to Flickr – I’ve just collected people if I like their photos, and some of them have reciprocated, though many were already known to me and the social side of just wanting to keep up with what people are doing – in photo form – is what has pulled me in – not very far, but the pictures give you an instant hit and a clearer idea of what people are doing.

So what do all these different groups mean? There’s nowhere the groups match exactly, so there are different people for different sites – despite the recent attempts to start bringing these groups together – with one Web 2.0 service talking to another – that should come as no surprise, we go down a pub with a different group of people we might go out to the cinema with or out clubbing or even social bookmarking.

Ideally a Web 2.0 site with social networking facility should have the low bar and friendliness of interaction of Twitter, the actual sense of doing something you get with Flickr, the surprise of fan-dom of Delicious and the comprehensive pool of people of Facebook – too much to ask? Probably!

Perhaps my view will change once I get round to reading Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody …

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JISC Digital Media launches

9 Feb

JISC Digital Media logo

TASI, one of the JISC’s Advisory Services, has changed to become JISC Digital Media.

The team will continue to provide advice, training and guidance on the creation and use of digital media collections, however the recently expanded service now provides expertise in moving images and sound in addition to still images and their use in learning, teaching and research.

The new website includes over 100 advice documents covering still images, moving images, audio and cross media resources.

JISC Digital Media offers a large range of training courses on various issues to do with the creation, use and managment of digital resources.

Their blog includes the latest updates to their advice documents, training programmes and advice for the community.

Launch events are being held in Bristol, London and Glasgow over the coming weeks.

  • 12 February 2009
    The Light Studio, Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA 3.00pm to 6.00pm
  • 23 February 2009
    Gallery 5, The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow G1 3NU 3.00pm to 6.00pm
  • 5 March 2009
    Run Run Shaw Room, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN 3.00pm to 6.00pm

RSVP: launch@jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk stating the launch venue you wish to attend and the names of any other guests you wish to bring.

JISC Digital Media – Still images, moving images and sound advice.

Intute features more Internet resources on sound, moving images and still images – try an Advanced Search and filter your query by resource type.

JISC Digital Media launches

9 Feb

JISC Digital Media logo

TASI, one of the JISC’s Advisory Services, has changed to become JISC Digital Media.

The team will continue to provide advice, training and guidance on the creation and use of digital media collections, however the recently expanded service now provides expertise in moving images and sound in addition to still images and their use in learning, teaching and research.

The new website includes over 100 advice documents covering still images, moving images, audio and cross media resources.

JISC Digital Media offers a large range of training courses on various issues to do with the creation, use and managment of digital resources.

Their blog includes the latest updates to their advice documents, training programmes and advice for the community.

Launch events are being held in Bristol, London and Glasgow over the coming weeks.

  • 12 February 2009
    The Light Studio, Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA 3.00pm to 6.00pm
  • 23 February 2009
    Gallery 5, The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow G1 3NU 3.00pm to 6.00pm
  • 5 March 2009
    Run Run Shaw Room, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN 3.00pm to 6.00pm

RSVP: launch@jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk stating the launch venue you wish to attend and the names of any other guests you wish to bring.

JISC Digital Media – Still images, moving images and sound advice.

Intute: Social Sciences features more Internet resources on sound, moving images and still images – try an Advanced Search and filter your query by Resource Type.

My Twitter Mosaic

4 Feb

Here’s my Twitter mosaic

Get your twitter mosaic here.

Only two of them don’t have bio pics – and what a fine looking lot you are too!

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10 Economics Blogs Worth Watching

3 Feb

What’s the current state of the Economics blogosphere? What’s changed, what’s changing and are there any blogs out there that I may not have noticed?

Particularly keen readers of this blog may recall our Guide to Using Blogs in Economics from a couple of years ago. I’m pleased to announce that it has been updated for 2009 with new content, new blogs and new examples of the use of economics blogs in teaching.

I got together with my fellow author Bhagesh Sachania of the Economics Network and we highlighted 10 Economics Blogs Worth Watching as well as talking about the new version of the blog guide – you’ll find it below as a SlideCast (PowerPoint slides with audio).

10 Economics Blogs Worth Watching

It highlighted for me that I’m slightly rusty in terms of my podcasting and SlideShare using skills, so it is a little rough around the edges – but hopefully you may discover a blog you’ve not come across before or an idea you can use in your teaching.

The 10 blogs we picked out were:

Why not leave a comment if you’ve got something to say about the Economics blogosphere or get in touch via the Intute Economics Twitter channel.

Intute: Social Sciences features more Economics blogs.

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JISC survey of economists

2 Feb

How do economists communicate with each other? Help the JISC find out via an online survey.

Your input will help researchers to understand how economists communicate with each other, particularly with regard to the use of online resources and new technologies.

This is part of a study that is being undertaken on behalf of the JISC which will help them to understand how they can help academics make the best use of technology in their work.

All answers will be kept strictly confidential.

There is also the chance to win one of five prizes of 40 pounds worth of Amazon vouchers as a thank you for participating.

The survey is available online until February 13th 2009.

If you have any queries about the research or require more information then please do not hesitate to contact Nicki Dennis of Publishing Directions at nicki@publishingdirections.co.uk

Intute: Social Sciences features more Internet resources on the issue of Economics.

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