I try to comprehend the impact of the quake--of the tsunami in Japan. What nuclear problems exist? Never have I experienced an earthquake, much less a tsunami. Yet, I did know a college classmate, who grew up near the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. In 1979, following a nuclear incident at Three Mile Island, if memory serves me, my classmate went home. Details have faded over 30 years time. Yet, I remember her fear--her apprehension.
Though personally untouched by such major natural disasters, I am mesmerized by the pictures--the descriptions of the experience.
How is it possible to comprehend such an enormous force of nature? As a human being--as a person of conscience--I care to close the gap that hinders my compassion.
Some say that in order to show a compassionate response to such devastating events, it is necessary to denigrate the scale of our own problems in relation to the dramatic events--the devastating earthquake, the turbulent tsunami. With all due respect, I beg to differ. Rather, I offer to you another response.
When destruction strikes, we are called to live our own lives with increased dedication equivalent to the intensity of the destruction. We are called to discernment. Do we have the requisite resources of money, time--commitment of talent, or spirit--to improve the situation in some way? If not, do we have the requisite strength of spirit to live with greater intensity--with deeper commitment--to the passions of our own lives? We are called to discernment.
God help me--God help us--to resist the temptation to compare our lives with the people and situations in need as a means of escaping our responsibilities to help. We help no one to speak of others as being less fortunate. Such talk only deepens the cavern that separates us from one another, when we are in most need.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
One Voice
Today I learned that my words have traveled around the world, without my ever leaving St. Paul, Minnesota in the United States. I reached out, and my words reside with one person in Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Ghana, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, and Vietnam.
That is humbling. Not so much because of any grand message I offer, but, more because technology has enabled us to touch one another beyond our physical reach--that is humbling.
Without being embraced, technology is no spectacle worth celebrating. Yet, when we stop....look around, and listen to our own hearts, we may learn what we believe--what we wonder. Technology welcomes our beliefs' wonderings--our curiosity's questions.
I do not know by name the world citizens my words have touched. I never may know the depth of the impressions that I left. Yet, to leave any impression is a beginning. More often than not, we hear of peoples--of countries--who do not listen to one another. It may be they do listen to one another, but, if they do, they do not discover a way to co-exist.
Croatia? I confess that my one-time sharp ear to world events has dulled to conflict. I do not know how to
What do I know of Denmark? One short stop through Copenhagen's airport many years ago...one week hosting a Danish social worker during his visit to Minnesota....these are the bird's eye views I have had of Denmark.
What of France do I know? A bratty teenager's short visit is my limited view.
Of Ghana? To my chagrin, I know only that she is located in Africa. Ghana joined the United Nations in 1957. But, of people, of the culture, I know nothing.
What do I know of Hong Kong? A distant relative lived in Hong Kong at one time. Yet, all that his experience left me to believe was that its pace is fast. That is telling of little--at least little of depth.
Sweden. Of Sweden, I know little. She is a Scandanavian country. As such, my Norwegian roots fill me with a fondness for the progressive perspectives toward living that Swedes share. Yet, I am chagrin to say I know little.
Russia. Ah, Russia. I have come close to losing a family member to Russia several times. No, I am speaking of no threat to bodily safety. Quite to the contrary. In 1967, Russia was just beyond Alaska on the map. I swear. Long before we had heard of Sarah Palin, Russia captured the imagination of family members. Five trips have ensued over forty years. Russian love remains a family passion.
That is humbling. Not so much because of any grand message I offer, but, more because technology has enabled us to touch one another beyond our physical reach--that is humbling.
Without being embraced, technology is no spectacle worth celebrating. Yet, when we stop....look around, and listen to our own hearts, we may learn what we believe--what we wonder. Technology welcomes our beliefs' wonderings--our curiosity's questions.
I do not know by name the world citizens my words have touched. I never may know the depth of the impressions that I left. Yet, to leave any impression is a beginning. More often than not, we hear of peoples--of countries--who do not listen to one another. It may be they do listen to one another, but, if they do, they do not discover a way to co-exist.
Croatia? I confess that my one-time sharp ear to world events has dulled to conflict. I do not know how to
What do I know of Denmark? One short stop through Copenhagen's airport many years ago...one week hosting a Danish social worker during his visit to Minnesota....these are the bird's eye views I have had of Denmark.
What of France do I know? A bratty teenager's short visit is my limited view.
Of Ghana? To my chagrin, I know only that she is located in Africa. Ghana joined the United Nations in 1957. But, of people, of the culture, I know nothing.
What do I know of Hong Kong? A distant relative lived in Hong Kong at one time. Yet, all that his experience left me to believe was that its pace is fast. That is telling of little--at least little of depth.
Sweden. Of Sweden, I know little. She is a Scandanavian country. As such, my Norwegian roots fill me with a fondness for the progressive perspectives toward living that Swedes share. Yet, I am chagrin to say I know little.
Russia. Ah, Russia. I have come close to losing a family member to Russia several times. No, I am speaking of no threat to bodily safety. Quite to the contrary. In 1967, Russia was just beyond Alaska on the map. I swear. Long before we had heard of Sarah Palin, Russia captured the imagination of family members. Five trips have ensued over forty years. Russian love remains a family passion.
Go with the Flow
Go with the flow. To watch coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan brings new meaning to the phrase, "Go with the flow."
As with carefully designed buildings in Japan, we try to brace ourselves to withstand upheaval--in all forms--in our lives. Yet, we delude ourselves to we think that we may fortify ourselves sufficient to be impervious to quaking forces in our lives.
We have much to learn from Japan--from her culture, her commitment to beauty. Japan communicates her beauty in part through calligraphic characters.
I see the tsunami's surreal destruction. I wonder about the atomic bombs that hit Nagasaki, and Hiroshima in 1945. I know that there are many differences between then and now. The earthquake, and tsunami are forces of nature. The atomic bombs were the result of human decisions, and the execution of those decisions. In 1945, technological developments had not enabled us to watch destructive natural, and man-made forces.
Television, much less CNN, was many years from invention. By mere statistics, atomic bombs have a far greater impact on civilization--on human lives. I wonder. How are our perspectives--our decisions that flow from those decisions--affected by technology's views that come into our focus?
Go with the flow? With the quaking earth, and the crashing tsunami, where do we go? Where do we look? Where do we stand to stay safe, and yet, be moved by the crashing waves?
As with carefully designed buildings in Japan, we try to brace ourselves to withstand upheaval--in all forms--in our lives. Yet, we delude ourselves to we think that we may fortify ourselves sufficient to be impervious to quaking forces in our lives.
We have much to learn from Japan--from her culture, her commitment to beauty. Japan communicates her beauty in part through calligraphic characters.
I see the tsunami's surreal destruction. I wonder about the atomic bombs that hit Nagasaki, and Hiroshima in 1945. I know that there are many differences between then and now. The earthquake, and tsunami are forces of nature. The atomic bombs were the result of human decisions, and the execution of those decisions. In 1945, technological developments had not enabled us to watch destructive natural, and man-made forces.
Television, much less CNN, was many years from invention. By mere statistics, atomic bombs have a far greater impact on civilization--on human lives. I wonder. How are our perspectives--our decisions that flow from those decisions--affected by technology's views that come into our focus?
Go with the flow? With the quaking earth, and the crashing tsunami, where do we go? Where do we look? Where do we stand to stay safe, and yet, be moved by the crashing waves?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Evaluating Online Information
Many think of the study of library science as being a simple matter of reading many books. Card catalogs. Those are stereotypes of years gone by. Yet, the excitement of being conferred a master of library and information science goes far beyond four letters, M.L.I.S., a cap and gown, a diploma, marvelous pictures, and a wonderful celebration. Not to diminish any of those five is a window into how to mine for information--how to conduct a treasure hunt for information.
The first step in assessing the veracity of information is to identify the type of website on which the information appears. Wikis are subject to being edited by any individual without disclosure of who the author of the information was. Blogs are web logs--diaries--published by individuals.
Other types of websites may be identified by virtue of their domain. We are vulnerable to being unable to assess online information without identifying the different types of domains.
Domain extensions are identified by a non-profit organization known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The original intent of the World Wide Web by its creator, Tim Berners-Lee, was to provide a forum for the free exchange of information across the world. While the ICANN exists to establish standardized names of websites, the World Wide Web Consortium exists to regulate how information is presented on the Internet digitally. Both organizations are dedicated to preserving the stability of the Internet, so that the free exchange of information may occur.
The most common domain with the widest usage are as follows: .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .mobi, .nato, .net, and org. There are other domain extensions, but, these are the most commonly used extensions.
The extension with the greatest variety of content--is .com. The .com domain stands for commercial. The .edu domain is assigned to educational institutions,primarily. There may be educational institutions that do not use the .edu. However, the .edu domain is not used by other individuals, or groups. The .gov domain names are used by government institutions in the United States. Similarly, the .int extension is used by international organizations. The .mil extension is used by websites of U.S. military institutions. The .mobi extension is reserved for websites intended for use by mobile phones. The .nato extension is reserved for websites authored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]. The .org domain extension is used by organizational units on the Internet. Oftentimes, this is thought of as charitable, or non-profit organizations. However, that is not always the case. In genealogy research I have done, I have found websites of U.S. localities, which contain the .org extension. So, although the extensions I have listed have specific topical, or organizational meanings intended, it would be a misnomer to imply that only the organizations described used the specific domain extensions.
Beyond the organic domain extensions, there is a multitude of extensions used to identify the country of the online data. For example, .uk distinguishes websites with information from the United Kingdom. There are 245 country-specific domain extensions. The difficulty in navigating such websites is knowledge of foreign languages. Each country domain contains data in the country's native language. The Google Chrome browser does enable an individual to have the website data, which has been keyed, to be translated. An individual needs to be wary of the quality of the translation. I am not condemning Google translations. Rather, this is a consideration to be added to the factors involved in assessing the veracity of online data.
Exploring the origins of the International Women's Day inspired my consideration of assessing veracity of information. Learning that Bulgaria is among the countries that celebrates International Women's Day as a national holiday led me to the Bulgarian News Agency [BTA] http://www.bta.bg/en/page/79/About_BTA website. A list of links to global news agencies on the BTA website caught my attention. I am impressed by the commitment to free access to information that that list implies. I pray my impress-ion shall not cloud me from corruption of the truth, wherever it may occur. I do want to remain open to my belief that truth may exist --is possible--anywhere, from anyone's mouth.
The first step in assessing the veracity of information is to identify the type of website on which the information appears. Wikis are subject to being edited by any individual without disclosure of who the author of the information was. Blogs are web logs--diaries--published by individuals.
Other types of websites may be identified by virtue of their domain. We are vulnerable to being unable to assess online information without identifying the different types of domains.
Domain extensions are identified by a non-profit organization known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The original intent of the World Wide Web by its creator, Tim Berners-Lee, was to provide a forum for the free exchange of information across the world. While the ICANN exists to establish standardized names of websites, the World Wide Web Consortium exists to regulate how information is presented on the Internet digitally. Both organizations are dedicated to preserving the stability of the Internet, so that the free exchange of information may occur.
The most common domain with the widest usage are as follows: .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .mobi, .nato, .net, and org. There are other domain extensions, but, these are the most commonly used extensions.
The extension with the greatest variety of content--is .com. The .com domain stands for commercial. The .edu domain is assigned to educational institutions,primarily. There may be educational institutions that do not use the .edu. However, the .edu domain is not used by other individuals, or groups. The .gov domain names are used by government institutions in the United States. Similarly, the .int extension is used by international organizations. The .mil extension is used by websites of U.S. military institutions. The .mobi extension is reserved for websites intended for use by mobile phones. The .nato extension is reserved for websites authored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]. The .org domain extension is used by organizational units on the Internet. Oftentimes, this is thought of as charitable, or non-profit organizations. However, that is not always the case. In genealogy research I have done, I have found websites of U.S. localities, which contain the .org extension. So, although the extensions I have listed have specific topical, or organizational meanings intended, it would be a misnomer to imply that only the organizations described used the specific domain extensions.
Beyond the organic domain extensions, there is a multitude of extensions used to identify the country of the online data. For example, .uk distinguishes websites with information from the United Kingdom. There are 245 country-specific domain extensions. The difficulty in navigating such websites is knowledge of foreign languages. Each country domain contains data in the country's native language. The Google Chrome browser does enable an individual to have the website data, which has been keyed, to be translated. An individual needs to be wary of the quality of the translation. I am not condemning Google translations. Rather, this is a consideration to be added to the factors involved in assessing the veracity of online data.
Exploring the origins of the International Women's Day inspired my consideration of assessing veracity of information. Learning that Bulgaria is among the countries that celebrates International Women's Day as a national holiday led me to the Bulgarian News Agency [BTA] http://www.bta.bg/en/page/79/About_BTA website. A list of links to global news agencies on the BTA website caught my attention. I am impressed by the commitment to free access to information that that list implies. I pray my impress-ion shall not cloud me from corruption of the truth, wherever it may occur. I do want to remain open to my belief that truth may exist --is possible--anywhere, from anyone's mouth.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Where in the World Are They?
World events--2011's current affairs--call for a new vocabulary. Recently, a fun test was sent to me. The test? A blank map of Africa with country borders was accompanied by a list of corresponding country names. The object? To drag the names of the appropriate country, so as to assess geographical knowledge.
I offer you an entertaining, insightful challenge. Try the test for yourself. http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html
Don't worry about being wrong. Keep trying. I did. I did not get the countries correct without making mistakes. Yet, the test heightened--heightens--my desire to be more attentive than I have been.
Beyond current affairs that demand our attention are longer-term--more subtle--news. The daily stock exchanges provide barometers of confidence in world affairs. State and national monthly unemployment statistics represent additional barometers. Barometers of what? Outsourcing. International trade imbalances.
Outsourcing and trade imbalances should direct our attention to India, and China. Cheaper labor, and the form of government. India is a democracy. The Republic of China is a communist state. The Chinese government has firm control of the direction of the country's economy. I confess to knowing less of India's economy. I do know that significant outsourcing of computer work has been outsourced to India--keying of data into electronic form, and software But, I don't know how or why it is that India plays the role it does. The Philippines is another player in the outsourcing jigsaw puzzle. The Philippines provides large U.S. corporations with a source of cheap labor to achieve data entry of print data into digital form.
Our questions will be ever-present. If we are to have any hope of developing an understanding of other countries, it is essential to have a foundation of primary sources upon which we may refer for information. Whatever U.S. media is our daily white noise may alert us to pressing issues facing the world in which we live. Yet, if we do not have reliable native sources of information, we are at the whim of U.S. media, who have bureaus in other countries.
I offer you an entertaining, insightful challenge. Try the test for yourself. http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html
Don't worry about being wrong. Keep trying. I did. I did not get the countries correct without making mistakes. Yet, the test heightened--heightens--my desire to be more attentive than I have been.
Beyond current affairs that demand our attention are longer-term--more subtle--news. The daily stock exchanges provide barometers of confidence in world affairs. State and national monthly unemployment statistics represent additional barometers. Barometers of what? Outsourcing. International trade imbalances.
Outsourcing and trade imbalances should direct our attention to India, and China. Cheaper labor, and the form of government. India is a democracy. The Republic of China is a communist state. The Chinese government has firm control of the direction of the country's economy. I confess to knowing less of India's economy. I do know that significant outsourcing of computer work has been outsourced to India--keying of data into electronic form, and software But, I don't know how or why it is that India plays the role it does. The Philippines is another player in the outsourcing jigsaw puzzle. The Philippines provides large U.S. corporations with a source of cheap labor to achieve data entry of print data into digital form.
Our questions will be ever-present. If we are to have any hope of developing an understanding of other countries, it is essential to have a foundation of primary sources upon which we may refer for information. Whatever U.S. media is our daily white noise may alert us to pressing issues facing the world in which we live. Yet, if we do not have reliable native sources of information, we are at the whim of U.S. media, who have bureaus in other countries.
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