that's just who I am
/“Sorry, but that is the way I am.. I was like this in the beginning, am now, and ever shall be…” is a handy motto and delusion to hang around your neck when you don’t want to grow up.
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Articles of Interest - Jan 22
/***PRODUCING MEDIA
Photo format from Google and Mozilla could outdo Apple and JPEG CNET
This tool makes editing podcasts just as easy as editing text Poynter
How charities are harnessing the power of VR The Daily Dot
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is making you miserable. Here’s how to delete your accounts PopSci
How to prepare for the removal of publisher posts from Facebook’s news feed Medium
Hard Questions: Social Media and Democracy Facebook Newsroom
Here’s why people on Twitter are seeing news alerts that they didn’t ask for Recode
Saving Our Children From Smartphones Monday Note
***MOBILE
Fake apps can steal your information. Here's how to detect them Poynter
Ways to keep your data safe while traveling Tech Republic
***INTERNET
Which email greeting generates the best response rate? The Atlas
***TECHNOLOGY
The era of the cloud’s total dominance is drawing to a close The Economist
Top Tech books of 2017: Part I Wired
The Top Tech Books of 2017: Part II Wired
Are programs better than people at predicting reoffending? The short answer is that the two are about the same The Economist
***JOURNALISM
Everything you need to know about FOIA Washington Post (FB page video)
Mr. President: Stop Attacking the Press (by Sen. John McCain) MSNBC
Many in other countries follow news about US closely Pew Research Center
Dealing with the word 's***hole' Union Tribune
Southern California is about to experience a journalism vacuum Medium
Quiz: How well can you identify news trends? Washington Post
Eight journalists enter 2018 facing criminal charges RTDNA
There's hope for journalism in the digital age, says Bloomberg's co-founder The National
As technology develops, so must journalists’ codes of ethics The Guardian
BuzzFeed is asking readers for questions about the news BuzzFeed News
The biggest risk to American journalism isn't posed by Trump The Guardian
***JOURNALISM: THE MOVIE “THE POST”
‘The Post’ inspiration even for those not working in media College Media Review
Pitts: ‘The Post’ offers a timely reminder of what journalism is all about Mercury News
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Accusations Of 'Frat House' Behavior Trail 'LA Times' Publisher's Career NPR
Editorial backing Trump in ‘shithole’ controversy sparks outrage among newspaper staff Politico
Why I’m Done Working In Sports Journalism Medium
HuffPost: The End Of Citizen Journalism? Forbes
***FAKE NEWS
A dangerous fake news story about flu shots spread like a virus on Facebook Fast Company
Americans See More News Bias; Most Can't Name Neutral Source Gallup
Who Do Americans Believe Is the Most Objective News Source? Ad Week
The (almost) complete history of 'fake news' BBC
San Diego Library to Combat ‘Fake News’ with Workshop Series Times of San Diego
Tech Companies Working On Fixes For Fake News As Midterms Approach NP
***BIG DATA & AI
Algorithms Are Opinions Embedded in Code Scholarly Kitchen
Five of the most innovative use cases for machine learning coming to your business life sooner than you think Entrepreneur
NGIA staffers are concerned that AI is not yet advanced enough to truly replace most aspects of human analysis Business Insider
Does Big Data Belong in Courtrooms? Research shows even the best algorithms are no better than humans at predicting recidivism—& neither are very good Pacific Standard
After decades of AI being viewed as a "future" concept, is it time for your org to finally invest real dollars for real AI applications? Information Week
Data integrity is becoming all the more important in analysis and validation KD Nuggets
***REALLY?
This TV Interview Of A Burglary Suspect Should Be In The News Blooper Hall Of Fame Digg
Florida Man Arrested For Fried Chicken Attack On His Girlfriend The Smoking Gun
Doughnut-eating contest winner arrested again after doughnut shop robbery Pilot Online
Lighthearted vigil for burned down Taco Bell draws more than 100 Press Herald
***PERSONAL GROWTH
This is Daring Greatly Becoming (my blog)
How To Tell If You've Had An Emotionally Healthy Childhood Digg
***GRAMMAR
Following Up on ‘Off Of’ Chronicle of Higher Ed
The Quotable Guide to Punctuation is entirely devoted to the deployment of punctuation marks Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LANGUAGE
When Is a New Word New? It’s harder than ever nowadays to decide whether a coinage is really new Chronicle of Higher Ed
Personal pronouns are changing fast: How transgender rights are changing language The Economist
Naughty Words: Language’s power to shock is one of its strongest weapons, so what happens after we don’t blink an eye? Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LITERATURE
A timely history of poop jokes in English Chronicle of Higher Ed
Life Lessons From Chinese Children's Books Differ From Those In The U.S. NPR
The Lost Giant of American Literature: A major black novelist made a remarkable début. How did he disappear? The New Yorker
***GENDER
Gender Bias, by the Numbers Inside Higher Ed
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
The Race Beat, Revisited Harvard’s Nieman Reports
Key findings about U.S. immigrants Pew Research Center
***FREE SPEECH
A Forgotten First Amendment Hero New York Law Journal
Fox Argues Muhammad Ali Super Bowl Segment Is Free Speech Hollywood Reporter
The End of Academe: Free Speech and the Silencing of Dissent Chronicle of Higher Ed
Court rejects LA College’s attempt to dismiss lawsuit against its tiny ‘free speech zone’ The FIRE
***LEGAL ISSUES
Justice Department Sides With Archdiocese in Lawsuit Against Metro Washingtonian
As Super Bowl Approaches, Be Careful what you say about the Game Broadcast Law Blog
Has This Court Decision Rendered the Creative Commons License Unenforceable? Office of Copyright
These Trump Tweets Are ‘Not Law,’ Harvard Law Review Study Says National Law Journal
Breakthrough brings non-addictive opioid alternatives a step closer The Guardian
How Donald Trump Could Mess With Libel Laws Hollywood Reporter
***RELIGION
Gospel Singer Kidnapped, Beaten and Robbed Knox News
Mile High City plays host to Gay Christian Network conference Denver Post
Hobby Lobby Surrenders 245 More Iraq Artifacts From Smuggled Cache to Federal Government Newsweek
Popular pastor at North Park University is suspended for officiating gay wedding Chicago Tribune
Mysterious Dead Sea Scroll deciphered in Israel BBC
Satanic Temple challenges Missouri’s abortion law on religious grounds NBC News
American religious groups vary widely in their views of abortion Pew Research
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
'$*!*holes' sign outside Dallastown church is about theology, not politics, pastor says York Daily Record
Former President Carter writing book about religious faith Associated Press
Madison-based group sues HUD, Ben Carson over records on White House Bible study Wisconsin Gazette
The religious activists on the rise inside Trump's health department Politico
The Trump evangelicals have lost their gag reflex (opinion) Washington Post
***MEGACHURCH PASTORS & TELEVANGELISTS
Luis Palau Reveals Stage 4 Lung Cancer, Asks for Prayer Christianity Today
Interview with Megachurch pastor edited to hide what he said about sexual encounter with teen The Wartburg Watch
***ART & DESIGN
10,000 Classic Movie Posters Getting Digitized & Put Online Open Culture
The Artist Transporting Figures from Art History into Modern Life Artsy
Enroll in Seven Free Courses From the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Open Culture
***MUSIC
Benny Goodman Takes Jazz From The Nightclubs To The Concert Halls NPR
25 Essential Music Podcasts Pigeons and Planes Pigeons and Planes
A YouTube Channel Completely Devoted to Medieval Sacred Music: Hear Gregorian Chant, Byzantine Chant & More Open Culture
Is Vinyl’s Comeback Here to Stay? Pitchfork
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
When the President Uses a Profanity, What Can Broadcast News Do? Broadcast Law Blog
As TV viewership changes, TV newsrooms must too RTDNA
How Small Publishers Can Survive and Thrive After Facebook’s News Feed Change PBS Media Shift
***STUDENT MEDIA
Student newspaper story about new university president shakes the campus community The Ithacan
***STUDENT LIFE
Amazon's Bezos to give $33M for 1,000 Dreamer scholarships Politico
Eclipsed by urban counterparts, rural nonwhites go to college at equally low rates Hechinger Report
'Adolescence now lasts from 10 to 24' BBC News
Study: Millennials are more likely than Gen Xers to be perfectionists Quartz
Students should be paid to study Huff Post
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
'Beauty Myth' Writer Says Yale Blocked Harassment Claim against famed literary critic and English professor Harold Bloom New York Times
Many People With Intellectual Disabilities Face Sexual Abuse; Two Therapists Discuss The Impact NPR
In Their Words, Adults With Intellectual Disabilities Tell Their Sexual Assault Stories NPR
The #MeToo movement arrives in China The Economist
#MeToo shakes sports industry Sports Business Daily
How #MeToo really was different, according to data Washington Post
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT ON CAMPUS
Yale settles with student who cited false sex-assault claim Associated Press
Title IX Failures: Buffalo State failed to investigate an alleged sexual assault or respond to a female athlete’s requests Inside Higher Ed
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Ph.D.s Are Still Writing Poorly, Part 3 Chronicle of Higher Ed
U. of Arizona Provost Steps Down After Suit Claims ‘Demeaning’ Treatment of Female Deans Chronicle of Higher Ed
***BUSINESS
Something doesn’t ad up about America’s advertising market The Economist
Our Big Mac index shows fundamentals now matter more in currency markets The Economist
Photos: Here’s what the new Amazon Go cashierless convenience store looks like Recode
***HEALTH
NPR’s story on weight loss surgery in teens: Cost info would have improved a well-reported story Health News Review
What Fitbit's 6 billion nights of sleep data reveals about us Yahoo News
NY Times ‘Well’ section continues to mislead readers — this time on facial exercises that ‘may make you look 3 years younger’ Health News Review
Breakthrough brings non-addictive opioid alternatives a step closer The Guardian
How well can you predict the outcome of clinical trials? Not as well as you may think Stat News
***HEALTH: THE FLU
A Flu Pandemic Today Could Kill As Many As 80 Million People Scientific American
Confusion reigns on Good Morning America’s ‘complementary natural’ flu remedies report Health News Review
As Flu Season Strains Hospitals, Doctor Offers Advice For How To Stay Healthy NPR
How to Avoid Getting the Flu on an Airplane Life Hacker
The Flu Pandemic of 1918, As Reported in 1918 Jstor
***FAMILY
Raising a Social-Media Star: The parents of teen internet celebrities get a crash course in a new kind of fame The Atlantic
The diabolical genius of the baby advice industry The Guardian
How To Parent From Prison And Other Advice For Life Inside NPR
How to Raise a ProdigyCan achievement be engineered? The New Yorker
***SCIENCE
For the first time, China has overtaken the US in terms of the total number of science publications Nature
Many interested in environment see following science news as a duty Pew Research Center
The Rise and Fall of China’s Science Superstar Sixth Tone
***PSYCHOLOGY
Is everything you think you know about depression wrong? The Guardian
***PHILOSOPHY
Wall Street's Bill Miller gave Johns Hopkins' philosophy department $75 million Quartz
Investor's $75M gift to Johns Hopkins said to be largest ever to a philosophy department USA Today
Philosopher of the month: Jean-Jacques Rousseau OUP Blog
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Handwritten Syllabus & Final Exam for the Philosophy Course He Taught at Morehouse College Open Culture
***PRODUCTIVITY
Want to Fall Asleep Faster? Add This Tweak To Your Bedtime Routine Mental Floss
Daniel Pink's 'When' Shows the Importance Of Timing Throughout Life NPR
***ETHICS
As news outlets ramp up their use of native advertising, the industry must set ground rules and establish a common code of ethics Harvard's Nieman Report
***RESEARCH
Retracted Publications in Mental Health Literature: Discovery across Bibliographic Platforms Journal of Liberianship & Scholarly Communication
A journal has canceled a special issue after it discovered the guest editor provided fake credentials The Scientist
Pressure to publish in the biomedical scientific field: Ethical conflicts or a possible obsessive-compulsive disorder? European Journal of Internal Medicine
A paper showing how to make a smallpox cousin just got published. Critics wonder why Science Mag
HHS Delays Compliance Date for Revised Common Rule Ropes & Gray
Malaysia launches a new national Code of Responsible Conduct in Research New Straits Times
Make replication studies ‘a normal and essential part of science,’ Dutch science academy says Science Mag
Hey, here’s a new reason for a journal to reject a paper: it’s “annoying” that it’s already on a preprint server Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
A New Citation Database Launches Today: Digital Science’s Dimensions Scholarly Kitchen
***HIGHER ED
Let Ferpa Be Ferpa: Colleges have used Ferpa to prevent the release of newsworthy information Chronicle of Higher Ed
Why admissions at elite colleges aren’t really about merit Market Watch
Is Gov. Brown's proposal for a public online community college a good idea? Some educators say LA Times
The Biggest Problem for State Higher-Ed Policy? Federal Higher-Ed Policy Chronicle of Higher Ed
Title IX Failures: Buffalo State failed to investigate an alleged sexual assault Inside Higher Ed
How One University Is Trying to ‘Create a Space for Listening’ Chronicle of Higher Ed
International Student Numbers Decline Inside Higher Ed
Hooters opens soon in Abilene. One Christian university is less than thrilled Star-Telegram
Christian university where 'safe spaces' are banned opens in Boston Independent
***TEACHING
Why You Should Ask Students to Help Design Courses Chronicle of Higher Ed
To ban or not to ban: Teachers grapple with forcing students to disconnect from technology Washington Post
The 4 Reasons Why Every College Student Should Become an Instructor StudyBreaks
Tracking down hired pens used to be hard: Now Students have Twitter Chronicle of Higher Ed
The “Uh Oh” Effect
/Resist the “uh oh” effect. Midpoints—of work projects and training regiments can either discourage (the oh no” effect) or motivate (“oh no, time's running out”). UCLA researchers studying teamwork found that the majority of groups did almost no work until halfway to the deadline then suddenly buckled down. Set interim goals and adopt the “chain” technique: Pick a task and mark a calendar with an X every day you do it—the string of X’s serves as an incentive.
Aaron Fernandez writing in Wired Magazine
Articles of Interest - Jan 15
/***SOCIAL MEDIA
Here’s how to make sure Facebook shows you the content you want: You can beat the algorithm Recode
Facebook chooses friends over publishers Axios
How to post a still frame of a video to Instagram cNet
This Is the Data Snapchat Doesn’t Want You to See The Daily Beast
***SOCIAL MEDIA: ADDICTION
Study finds narcissists like fellow narcissists on Instagram PsyPost
I deleted Facebook off my phone and you should too Mashable
Are we raising digital monsters? Union Tribune
Cutting adolescents’ use of social media will not solve their problems Economist
Parents’ Biggest Dilemma: When to Give Children Smartphones WSJ (sub req’d)
When will social media companies get serious about their effect on young kids? (opinion) Quartz
***MOBILE
The Joy of Predictive Text Chronicle of Higher Ed
***THE INTERNET
The Supreme Court could soon clear the way for states to impose new online sales taxes Recode
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Digital media companies are headed for a crash, Hearst Magazines president David Carey says Recode
Media Organizations Grapple With the New Facebook The New York Times
Facebook feed change sacrifices time spent and news outlets for ‘well-being’ Tech Crunch
Axios Media Trends Axios
***JOURNALISM
After Donald Trump Said It, How News Outlets Handled It New York Times
Terry Gross, In Conversation Vulture
A Crash Course in Breitbart’s Conspiracy Journalism (video) The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper
Why NPR Decided To Spell Out And Say Vulgar Word Used By President Trump NPR
Trying to decide if you should publish that dirty word? Here's a step-by-step guide Poynter
It’s not “citizen journalism,” but it is “citizens taking notes at public meetings with no reporters around” Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Five Tips For Creating A Reporter Reel Newsroom Notes
After Donald Trump Said It, How News Outlets Handled It New York Times
10 resolutions for newsroom managers in 2018 Columbia Journalism Review
'The Post' reminds us of journalism's responsibility, legacy Chicago Tribune
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
WaPo hits 2nd year of profitability, plans expansion Axios
The top 10 newspaper publications in the US Muck Rack
Among U.S. Latinos, the internet now rivals television as a source for news Pew Research
How virtual reality could change the journalism industry PBS
***FAKE NEWS
Trump’s ‘Fake News Awards’ could violate ethics rules Politco
***TECHNOLOGY
CRISPR hits a snag: Our immune systems may attack the treatment Stat News
Robotic Implants Could Help Remedy a Rare Birth Defect Discover Magazine
Meet the Woman Using CRISPR to Breed All-Male “Terminator Cattle”Gene editing can change an animal’s sex MIT Tech Review
Artificial intelligence dominated the Consumer Electronics Show Economist
One in six Americans owns a smart speaker, according to study Engadget
***BIG DATA & AI
Visualizing the Uncertainty in Data Flowing Data
AI system sorts news articles by whether or not they contain actual information Motherboard
Questions mount over fate of SpaceX launched secret satellite—did the satellite suffer some sort of failure or is it “indeed, in orbit” Washington Post
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Within Arms Reach Becoming (my blog)
Want to Be Happy? Think Like an Old Person The New York Times
Why Boys Are Mean To Those They Like (video) Digg
Improving Ourselves to Death The New Yorker
The Building Blocks of Personhood: Oliver Sacks on Narrative as the Pillar of Identity Brain Pickings
***WRITING & READING
How Reading Increases Your Emotional Intelligence & Brain Function: The Findings of Recent Scientific Studies Open Culture
Redundancy in writing Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LANGUAGE
New Words of 1990 Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LITERATURE
Martin Luther King Jr. in His Own Words Jstor
Haiti’s Resilience as Seen Through Literature New York Times
A Winter Walk with Thoreau: The Transcendentalist Way of Finding Inner Warmth in the Cold Season Brain Pickings
Why the First Novel Created Such a Stir Jstor
How the written word shaped the written world: Literature is a fundamental part of human history Economist
W.H. Auden on the Political Power of Art and the Crucial Difference Between Party Issues and Revolutionary Issues Brain Pickings
Why we still love Henry David Thoreau New Yorker
***GENDER
Women in economics must be “significantly clearer writers than men” to get published in major journals and must wait longer, too New York Times
A Scientist's Gender Can Skew Research Results NPR
Google Memo Author Sues Company For Discrimination Against White Males BuzzFeed
Am I a bad feminist? (Margaret Atwood) Globe & Mail
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
North Carolina's Racial Gerrymandering Was Unconstitutional The Atlantic
H&M's Apology for Tone-Deaf 'Monkey' Sweatshirt Misstep 'Not Enough' Billboard
The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking Pew Research
***FREE SPEECH
Medical Charity Brings First Amendment Challenge against U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Washington Post
Student Group Sues UMass Over Speech and Rally Policies US News
Richard Spencer supporter sues university, calling security fee for campus speech unconstitutional Washington Post
Germany is silencing “hate speech”, but cannot define it Economist
Trump calls for review of libel laws (again) in his latest salvo against free press CNN
***LEGAL ISSUES
No Level of Copyright Enforcement Will Ever Be Enough For Big Media TorrentFreak
Legal Footnote: You Have to Look Hard to See the Supreme… ProPublica
Army challenges Golden Knights trademark; Vegas responds ProHockeyTalk
***RELIGION
Report Shows It's Increasingly Dangerous To Be A Christian In Many Countries NPR
Meet the theologian who helped MLK see the value of nonviolence The Conversation
Secret Documents Reveal Sex Abuse Scandal in Jehovah's Witnesses Church Newsweek
An evangelical Catholic movement inspires commitment, stirs controversy Philly.com
Bonhoeffer at the End of Life: Bonhoeffer, Evangelicals and Pastor Mike Hayes Patheos
Latino Churches Fear Impact of Homeland Security Decisions Christianity Today
Arson suspects sought in Pasadena church fire LA Times
Evangelical Chaplain’s Suspension Intensifies Denomination’s Gay Marriage Debate Religious News Service
A Brief History of Making Deals with the Devil: Niccolò Paganini, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Page & More Open Culture
Edwin Hawkins, gospel star known for 'Oh Happy Day' dies at 74 LA Times
***MEGACHURCHES
Megachurch Pastor admits to assaulting a teen 20 years ago, gets standing ovation CBS News
Andy Savage’s Standing Ovation Was Heard Round the World. Because It Was Wrong (opinion) Christianity Today
How California’s Megachurches Changed Christian Culture KQED
Former pastor says Angley abused him Akron Beacon Journal
Publisher cancels book by Tennessee pastor accused of sexual assault USA Today
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Trump’s ‘s---hole’ remark rattles evangelicals, other Christians The Wichita Eagle
Trump’s ‘shithole’ comments have enraged many. But some evangelical leaders still back him Washington Post
First Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress says sentiment of Trump's vulgar immigration remarks 'on target' Dallas News
Evangelical rift intensifies over Trump immigration remarks Associated Press
***ART & DESIGN
Mapbreaking Prototypr
Russia's Underground Art Finds A Home In The U.S. NPR
Meet your match: Google app finds famous art you look like CNET
What’s Up With the Helvetica Font in ‘The Post’? The Ringer
***MUSIC
Having rescued recorded music, Spotify may upend the industry again Economist
***BUSINESS
Why Economists Make Terrible Fortunetellers Jstor
The 7 Percent Rule: Why a small fraction of visitors drive most online traffic — and profit Traffic
***STUDENT MEDIA
Removal of John Carroll's newspaper adviser upsets former students Baltimore Sun
***STUDENT LIFE
Millennials may be terrible, but they get arrested far less often than their parents did SFGate
***JOBS & INTERNSHIPS
The 10 best places to find a job in 2018 CNBC
Internship opportunities, Summer 2018 NBC, Los Angeles
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Time For Harassers To Be Held Accountable, Female Gamer Says NPR
The Paradox of Protecting Students: In shielding students from sexual harassers, professors support a broken system Chronicle of Higher Ed
Are men accused of harassment denied due process? Or are the victims? Vox
U. of Rochester’s President Resigns as Report Supports Handling of Harassment Case Chronicle of Higher Ed
Why Psychologist John Pryor Created The Likelihood To Sexually Harass Scale NPR
***FAMILY
Most dads say they spend too little time with their children; about a quarter live apart from them Pew Research
The Grandparenting Generation New Republic
***HEALTH
The economy affects health in an unexpected way NPR
Severe obesity linked to newly identified gene mutations Imperial College of London
Researchers find identical twins share molecular similarity Baylor College of Medicine
How neural stem cells turn into brain cells, may allow treatment of neurological disorders early on UCLA
A severe flu season is stretching hospitals thin. That is a very bad omen Stat News
Trump's new assistant Drug Czar: a 24-year-old campaign volunteer with no experience, in charge of billions to end the opioid epidemic Washington Post
The New Health Care Still Not Convinced You Need a Flu Shot? First, It’s Not All About You New York Times
***SCIENCE
Scientists Continue to Use Outdated Methods The Scientist Magazine
Particle Physics hits a wall Economist
An Oath for Scientists Sometimes I’m Wrong Blog
***2017
2017’s Best and Worst Brand Names—And 3 Naming Trends For 2018 Fast Company
Star Wars, Meghan Markle, total eclipse drove sales on eBay in 2017 CNBC
***CREATIVITY
Two new books probe the evolutionary roots of creativity Economist
***HISTORY
How America’s infatuation with World War II has eroded our conscience (a graphic portrayal) The Nib
Slow Burn: A Podcast About Watergate Slate
50 Years Ago in Photos: A Look Back at 1968 The Atlantic
Watch the History of the World Unfold on an Animated Map: From 200,000 BCE to Today Open Culture
***RESEARCH
The statistical methods used to analyze the data can influence the interpretation of the results Elife Sciences
Funders should mandate open citations Nature
We Used Broadband Data We Shouldn’t Have — Here’s What Went Wrong FiveThirtyEight
That positive p-value we reported yesterday? Um, we screwed that up too Axovant
A New Citation Database Launches Today: Digital Science’s Dimensions Scholarly Kitchen
***HIGHER ED
An Insider’s Take on Assessment: It May Be Worse Than You Thought (“assessors have known for sometime now that assessment does not work”) Chronicle of Higher Ed
Higher Education Is Drowning in BS Chronicle of Higher Ed
Educators must help undocumented students feel safe, supported (opinion) Atlanta Journal Constitution Get Schooled
Is there still a place for Christian colleges in American higher ed? Education Dive
Moody Bible President and COO Both Resign, Provost Retires Christianity Today
***TEACHING
A School's Way To Fight Phones In Class: Lock 'Em Up NPR
***ACADEMIC LIFE
A Scholar, But Not a Professor Chronicle of Higher Ed
FIRE sues college for ignoring records requests about its firing of Black Lives Matter advocate The FIRE
Judge Dismisses Suit of LSU Professor Who Was Fired for Obscenities The Advocate
sadness
/Sadness is a wall between two gardens. Kahlil Gibran
Not Enough
/To me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is “I didn't get enough sleep.” And the next one is “I don't have enough time.” Whether true or not, the thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it. We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don't have enough of... Before we even set up in bed, before our feet touch the floor, we're already inadequate, already behind, already losing, already lacking something. And by the time we go to bed at night, our minds are racing with a litany of what we didn't get, or didn't get done, that day. We go to sleep burdened by those thoughts and wake up to that revelry of lack... This internal condition of scarcity, this mindset of scarcity, lives at the very heart of our jealousies, our greed, our prejudices, and our arguments with life…
Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money
Self-Control
/People with the best self-control aren’t the ones who use it all day long. They’re people who structure their lives so they conserve it. - John Tierney
Articles of Interest - Jan 8
/***SOCIAL MEDIA
Your smartphone is making you stupid, antisocial and unhealthy. So why can't you put it down The Globe & Mail
There’s a reason using a period in a text message makes you sound angry Quartz
New Documents Underscore Problems of ‘Social Media Vetting’ of Immigrants ACLU
***PRODUCING MEDIA
The 50 Best Podcasts of 2017 The Atlantic
***INTERNET
Google's New Search Console Gives Up More Data -- 16 Months Worth Media Post
How a researcher hacked his own computer and found 'worst' chip flaw Reuters
***JOURNALISM
Targeted for Death, Journalists Take US to Court on Kill List Courthouse News
The Rising Wave of Nonprofit Journalism Nonprofit Quarterly
Reading List: Data Journalism Open Corporates
Show your work: The new terms for trust in journalism Press Think
Study: Competition between TV stations spurs investigative journalism CRJ
One year in, Facebook Journalism Project gets mixed reviews from publishers Digiday
Top 10 research studies on digital news, social media in 2017 Journalism Resources
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Fewer Americans rely on TV news; what type they watch varies by who they are Pew Research Center
How reader funding is helping save independent media across the world The Guardian
Peter Thiel Is Exploring The Creation Of A Conservative Cable News Network BuzzFeed
Three reasons why journalism paywalls still don’t work Quartz
***JOURNALISM: THE POST MOVIE
The Post' Is A Crackling Newsroom Thriller With Electrifying Relevance NPR
As Trump Targets the Press, His White House Is Screening a Journalism Tribute The New York Times
Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham in 'The Post' can help fix #MeToo media damage USA Today
The Post Is an Urgent Reminder of How Much Journalism Matters. Especially Now TIME
***FAKE NEWS
Emmanuel Macron: French president announces 'fake news' law BBC
How Average People Fall For The Flat-Earth Conspiracy YouTube
How fake news plagued 2017 BBC
Some Real Data on Fake News Chronicle of Higher Ed
Fake News’: Wide Reach but Little Impact, Study Suggests The New York Times
This new guide is like a cookbook for investigating fake news Poynter
***TECHNOLOGY
Suspicious Spouses Monitor Partners Digitally, Divorce Lawyers Say NPR
Chess’s New Best Player Is A Fearless, Swashbuckling Algorithm FiveThirtyEight
***BIG DATA & AI
4 must have skills every data scientist should learn Hackernoon
Operationalizing data science—that is, hardening the ops behind data science platforms Inside Data Science
Google’s new option cloud computing users: discount processing (with a couple of limitations) ZdNet
Digital Twins isn't completely new but it is a useful major enabler of event processing Data Science Central
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Farewell To AM Radio, In The U.K. RBR
***PERSONAL GROWTH
We Seek Familiarity Becoming (my blog)
***WRITING & READING
10 Common Grant-Writing Mistakes Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LANGUAGE
Word(s) of the Year 2017 Chronicle of Higher Ed
Language classes in the US are finally useful Quartz
***LITERATURE
***GENDER
Disequilibrium in Gender Ratios among Authors who Contributed Equally BioRxiv
Female professors are asked for favors more often than male professors Science Daily
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
Lecturer’s Critique of Whiteness Crossed the Line Into Harassment, State Investigation Finds Chronicle of Higher Ed
Supreme Court sides with death row inmate over racist juror claim Reuters
***LEGAL ISSUES
Arrest of "citizen journalist" raises larger questions about free speech and press freedoms Texas Monthly
Lawyer Who Orchestrated Citizen Journalist's Arrest Appointed to Superior Court Bench National Law Review
Woman who accused Roy Moore of unwanted sexual contact sues him for defamation The Washington Post
***RELIGION
The Unlikely Crackup of Evangelicalism: The problems are real—but exaggerated Christian Today
Thomas Monson, President of the Mormon Church, Dies at 90 Reuters
Nearly one-third of ‘evangelicals’ don’t follow generally held beliefs The Alabama Baptist
FEMA allows churches to apply retroactively for disaster aid Reuters
Biggest Mennonite Conference Leaves Denomination Christianity Today
Unraveling the Mysteries of Heaven's Gate Voice of San Diego
Deep Differences Remain Between Mormon And Evangelical Communities NPR
Memphis mega-church Pastor Accused of sexual assault Fox 13
Evangelicalism is spreading among the Chinese of South-East Asia Economist
How Jim and Tammy Bakker's religious Ponzi scheme collapsed (book review) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
***ART & DESIGN
High Museum Of Art In Atlanta Promotes Diversity, Increases Nonwhite Visitors NPR
Personal Data Safety: The Biggest Breaches In the Last Decade Daily Infographic
***STUDENT MEDIA
UWM Profs, Staff Accused of Sexual Assault & Harassment But Details Hidden Media Milwaukee
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Will anyone employ media heavyweights canned for sexual harassment? Poynter
Anniston Star's ex-publisher spanked female employees in the 1970s, reports say AL.com
NPR Investigation Finds Hidden Epidemic Of Sexual Assault NPR
***ENVIRONMENT
Explore lightly': Palau makes all visitors sign pledge to respect environment The Guardian
***HEALTH
Fiber Is Good for You. Now Scientists May Know Why The New York Times
Life expectancy in America has declined for two years in a row Economist
***SCIENCE
Violence against scientists is rare in the United States, but occurred at least three times in 2016 AAPL
The Replication Crisis in Science The Wire
***NEUROSCIENCE
Brain-computer interfaces: How brains and machines can be made to work together Economist
Reading the brain from the outside: Can brain activity be deciphered without opening up the skull? Economist
How obstacles to workable brain-computer interfaces may be overcome Economist
***ETHICS
Integrity goes beyond avoiding misconduct, and scientific integrity has a wider domain than research integrity Taylor & Francis Online
***RESEARCH
Why scientists need to do more about research fraud The Guardian
Research abstracts are commonly inconsistent with their corresponding full reports and thus misleading readers BMC Medical Research Methodology
Librarians offer a guide to understanding retractions College & Research Libraries News
The UK’s Research Excellence Framework “forces academics to produce scholarship in greater quantity but of poorer quality” Times Higher Ed
An analysis of a paper’s revision history and turnaround time, and the effect on citation Springer
***HIGHER ED
Most big public colleges don't track suicides, AP finds Associated Press
Gay Wedding Costs College Pastor Her Job Inside Higher Ed
University Will Again Try to Become a Nonprofit Chronicle of Higher Ed
University announces plans to sell radio station Andersonian
Moody Bible Institute Lays off one-third of Faculty, Faces Low Student Enrollment Christian Post
Moody Bible Institute Facing Unprecedented Crisis Julie Roys Blog
***TEACHING
Teaching Newsletter: Don’t Run From Emotions in the Classroom Chronicle of Higher Ed
Teaching the Literature Survey Course Inside Higher Ed
The Chronicle’s Best Ideas for Teaching, 2017 Chronicle of Higher Ed
Desktop Automation Chronicle of Higher Ed
How to Reach Out to First-Generation Students Chronicle of Higher Ed
Yes, We Should Teach Character (opinion) Chronicle of Higher Ed
***STUDENT LIFE
Students Identify With 50-Year-Old Supreme Court Case NPR
President Trump Throws College Republicans Into Disarray The Atlantic
Berkeley student arrested by Border Patrol while visiting girlfriend in Chula Vista Union-Tribune
Millennials And The Economy NPR
***ACADEMIC LIFE
When is it appropriate for a professor to talk about a former student Washington Post
UCLA lecturer who lost his job has gained another wrinkle: A graduate student who argued on his behalf also lost his position and is claiming retaliation by administrators Chronicle of Higher Ed
We Seek Familiarity
/We believe we seek happiness in love, but it’s not quite as simple. What at times it seems we actually seek is familiarity – which may well complicate any plans we might have for happiness.
We recreate in adult relationships some of the feelings we knew in childhood. It was as children that we first came to know and understand what love meant. But unfortunately, the lessons we picked up may not have been straightforward. The love we knew as children may have come entwined with other, less pleasant dynamics: being controlled, feeling humiliated, being abandoned, never communicating.
As adults, we may then reject certain healthy candidates whom we encounter, not because they are wrong, but precisely because they are too well-balanced (too mature, too understanding, too reliable), and this rightness feels unfamiliar and alien, almost oppressive. We head instead to candidates whom our unconscious is drawn to, not because they will please us, but because they will frustrate us in familiar ways.
We marry the wrong people because the right ones feel wrong – undeserved; because we have no experience of health, because we don’t ultimately associate being loved with feeling satisfied.
suspence
/Only the brave can endure suspense. Mignon McLaughlin
The Vulnerability Myth
/The perception that vulnerability is weakness is the most widely accepted myth about vulnerability and the most dangerous. When we spend our lives pushing away and protecting ourselves from feeling vulnerable or from being perceived as too emotional, we feel contempt when others are less capable or willing to mask feelings, suck it up, and soldier on. We’ve come to the point where, rather than respecting appreciating the courage and daring behind vulnerability, we let our fear and discomfort become judgment and criticism.
Our rejections of vulnerability often stems from associating it with dark emotions like fear, shame, grief, sadness, and disappointment—emotions that we don't want to discuss, even when they profoundly affect the way we live, love, work, and even lead. What most of us fail to understand and what took me a decade of research to learn is the vulnerability is also the cradle of the emotions experiences that we crave. Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual eyes, vulnerability is the path.
Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
Our Difficult Side
/Knowledge of our own neuroses is not at all easy to come by. It can take years and situations we have had no experience of. Prior to marriage, we’re rarely involved in dynamics that properly hold up a mirror to our disturbances. Whenever more casual relationships threaten to reveal the ‘difficult’ side of our natures, we tend to blame the partner – and call it a day. As for our friends, they predictably don’t care enough about us to have any motive to probe our real selves. They only want a nice evening out. Therefore, we end up blind to the awkward sides of our natures. On our own, when we’re furious, we don’t shout, as there’s no one there to listen – and therefore we overlook the true, worrying strength of our capacity for fury. Or we work all the time without grasping, because there’s no one calling us to come for dinner, how we manically use work to gain a sense of control over life – and how we might cause hell if anyone tried to stop us. At night, all we’re aware of is how sweet it would be to cuddle with someone, but we have no opportunity to face up to the intimacy-avoiding side of us that would start to make us cold and strange if ever it felt we were too deeply committed to someone. One of the greatest privileges of being on one’s own is the flattering illusion that one is, in truth, really quite an easy person to live with.
pursue meaning
/People pursue happiness, but it’s always temporary. Pursue meaning instead. -Emily Esfahani Smith
Articles of Interest - Jan 1
/***TECHNOLOGY
The Biggest Technology Failures of 2017 MIT’s Technology Review
Key trends shaping technology in 2017 Pew Research
This VR Exhibit Lets You Connect with the Human Side of War MIT’s Technology Review
***BIG DATA & AI
Military robots are getting smaller and more capable: Soon, they will travel in swarms Economist
Machine learning is creating never before heard sounds as neural networks begins to take the simple to create the complex (video) Google Inhouse vlogger
Why scientists (especially in physics and astronomy) embrace Bayesian statistics Bloomberg
Are computers intelligent, or just pattern detectors? Exploring the “Beautiful Mind” of neural networks ieee Spectrum
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter’s No. 1 Topic Of 2017? You Guessed It Deadline
Snapchat Copies Facebook Feature For Once With 'A Look Back at 2017' MacRumors
How To Find Your 2017 Snapchat Memories So You Can Relive Your Best Snaps Of The Year Bustle
***MOBILE
Los Angeles is opening a selfie museum New York Post
How to Stop Apps From Listening in on Your TV Habits Life Hacker
***INTERNET
How Hotmail changed Microsoft (and email) forever Arstechnica
Forward your spam to sp@mnesty.com and a bot will waste the spammer's time Boing Boing
***JOURNALISM
Santa Barbara News-Press paper byline sparks controversy KEYT-TV
A day in the life of a print journalism reporter Pueblo Chieftain
Polls show Americans distrust the media. But talk to them, and it’s a very different story Washington Post
MSNBC reporter video-bombed by T-rexes UPI
Spielberg’s ‘The Post,’ with Streep and Hanks, an inspiring journalism saga San Francisco Gate
***JOURNALISM IN 2017
What national news networks were talking about during 2017 Washington Post
Why I started saying ‘reality-based press’ in 2017, instead of ‘mainstream media’ Washington Post
2017 journalism report card HealthNewsReview
***JOURNALISM OUTSIDE THE U.S.
81 reporters were killed in 2017 as threats soared, global journalism group says CBC News
Mexico: Latest murder highlights blurred lines in journalism Associated Press
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
How the Era of the Big-Name News Anchor Crashed to an End The Daily Beast
***FAKE NEWS
Yale University Hackathon Takes Aim At Fake News NPR
Fake news. It's complicated. First Draft Medium
Efforts grow to help students evaluate what they see online Associated Press
Outsmarting Fake News and Dubious Data Harvard Business Review
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Three Goals for 2018 Becoming (my blog)
The Only Way to Keep Your Resolutions New York Times
The Courage to Be Yourself: E.E. Cummings on Art, Life, and Being Unafraid to Feel Brainpickings
What Is Procrastination & How Can We Solve It? An Introduction by One of the World’s Leading Procrastination Experts Open Culture
The Best of Brain Pickings 2017 Brainpickings
Ditch These Seven Bad Habits Before 2018 Start Fast Company
***WRITING & READING
The difficulty is the point': teaching spoon-fed students how to really read The Guardian
To Your Brain, Audiobooks Are Not ‘Cheating’ The Cut
How to Get Your Mind to Read New York Times
***LITERATURE
The Art of Being Alone: May Sarton’s Stunning 1938 Ode to Solitude BrainPickings
The best science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels of 2017 The Verge
Why Should We Read Charles Dickens? A TED-Ed Animation Makes the Case Open Culture
The Top Tech Books of 2017: Part I Wired
The Favorite Literary Work of Every Country Visualized on a World Map Open Culture
The Best Fiction Books of 2017 Booktalk
Flannery O’Connor: Friends Don’t Let Friends Read Ayn Rand Open Culture
***GENDER
How Mary Tyler Moore's Career-Woman Role Inspired A Generation NPR
10 things we learned about gender issues in the U.S. in 2017 Pew Research
***FREE SPEECH
Germany starts enforcing hate speech law BBC
***RELIGION
The Net Worth of The10 Richest US Pastors Cheat Sheet
The Museum of the Bible National Law Review
Atheist Flag Will Be Raised Over Ten Commandments Monument NPR
Trump Scorns Mainstream News, But Not The Christian Broadcasting Network NPR
***RELIGION IN 2017
2017 Has Been A Rough Year For Evangelicals NPR
Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2017 Christianity Today
***ART & DESIGN
The Year in Visual and Interactive Storytelling ProPublica
Fast Company’s Favorite Illustrations Of 2017 Fast Company
Teacher Fired for Showing Students Classical Painting Postcards Containing Nudity Associated Press
20 best album covers 2017 Creative Bloq
10 Best Data Visualization Projects of 2017 Flowing Data
***FILM
The 2017 Storyhunter Staff Picks Awards Video Strategist
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
2017: Traditional Media Stocks Underperform, Digital Media Soars Media Post
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
How do you define sexual harassment? Reuters
Who's More Dangerous - the Sexual Predator or the Enabler? (opinion) TechNewsWorld
***HEALTH
LA Times provides strong overview on study showing vitamin D and calcium supplements don’t prevent fractures HealthNewsReview
The uninsured are overusing emergency rooms — and other health-care myths Washington Post
The Haunting Effects Of Going Days Without Sleep NPR
How to fix the American diet, according to the man who coined the term ‘junk food’ Washington Post
Eat more fish for higher IQ? Announcement skips limitations of an observational study HealthNewsReview
***SCIENCE
'Vast Majority' of Online Anti-Vaxxers Are Women Live Science
How Climate Change Deniers Rise to the Top in Google Searches New York Times
Longreads Best of 2017: Science, Technology, and Business Writing Longreads
Secret Link Uncovered Between Pure Math and Physics Quanta Mag
***PSYCHOLOGY
World Health Organization Thinks Video Games Are Causing a Mental Health Disorder Newsweek
***PHILOSOPHY
God's Answer to Nietzsche, the Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard BigThink
***PRODUCTIVITY
Why Calendars are More Effective Than To Do Lists Medium
5 Books To Buy This Holiday To Boost Your Work In 2018 PSFK
***RESEARCH
Reproducible research: The consequences are somewhat overstated (research opinion) Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence
Fallibility in science: Responding to errors in the work of oneself and others (opinion) Peer J
Authorship disputes: How do we avoid “cutting the baby in half”? Hindawi
City University of New York Looking into why some of faculty published in predatory journals New York Post
The president of the Swiss Association for Science Journalism interviews Ivan Oransky of Retraction Watch (audio) swissnex San Francisco
Must Good Science Proselytize? The Grumpy Geophysicist
***HIGHER ED
Only half of all Latino students graduate from college. So what are Texas schools doing to help? Dallas News
No place for 'snowflakes': Conservative Christian college poised to open in 2018 Fox News
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Death threats are forcing professors off campus CNN
Czech university urged to bar new dean over ‘junk journal’ papers Times Higher Ed
Professor who tweeted, ‘All I want for Christmas is white genocide,’ resigns after year of threats Washington Post
Three Goals for 2018
/“Kierkegaard cries out for us to live passionately, and worry more about the problem of living life than trying to fit the social order. His philosophy is all about living this way, even to the point where an outside viewer will be unable to understand your motivation,” writes Scotty Hendricks at BigThink.
1. Be passionate,
2. Focus on living not fitting into some predetermined social role,
3. You will know you are on the right track when people have trouble grasping what motivates you.
Three worthy goals for 2018.
Stephen Goforth
the unlived life within
/Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us.
Steven Pressfield
one's labors
/One loves that for which one labors, and one labors for that which one loves.
Erich Fromm
Glory in the Flower
/That though the radiance which was once so bright
be now forever taken from my sight.
Though nothing can bring back
the hour of splendor in the grass,
glory in the flower.
We will grieve not,
rather find strength in what remains behind.
William Wordsworth
nothing is easier
/Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him. -Fyodor Dostoevsky
Figuring out What’s Wrong with our Prospective Mate
/Other people are stuck at the same low level of self-knowledge as we are. However well-meaning they might be, they too are in no position to grasp, let alone inform us, of what is wrong with them.
Naturally, we make a stab at trying to know them. We go and visit their families, perhaps the place they first went to school. We look at photos, we meet their friends. All this contributes to a sense we’ve done our homework. But it’s like a novice pilot assuming they can fly after sending a paper plane successfully around the room.
We need to know the intimate functioning of the psyche of the person we’re planning to marry. We need to know their attitudes to, or stance on, authority, humiliation, introspection, sexual intimacy, projection, money, children, aging, fidelity and a hundred things besides. This knowledge won’t be available via a standard chat.
In the absence of all this, we are led – in large part – by what they look like. There seems to be so much information to be gleaned from their eyes, nose, shape of forehead, distribution of freckles, smiles… But this is about as wise as thinking that a photograph of the outside of a power station can tell us everything we need to know about nuclear fission.
The Philosophers’ Mail