Heard a great story from the BBC (via the World's Technology Podcast, which is a great review of tech issues around the world) about efforts to revitalize the Romani language with the help of a British linguist and the Internet.
The World Techology site says "Romani is the language of the Roma, or gypsies. The language has many dialects an is oral, rather than written. But the Internet is giving some clearer shape to Romani." Their blog points to more resources, including links to Romani media sites from the Romani Linguistics and Romani Language Projects in Manchester. These links include radio & tv in Romani, and a cool map so you can see where Romani is spoken.
Quoting Al Stewart,
"Torn between the Gypsy and the Rose /
It was Romany I chose"
March 29, 2006
March 28, 2006
About the New Orleans Paper
I heard a NewsHour podcast this morning about how the New Orleans Times Picayune is covering New Orleans after Katrina.
This is what the NewsHour web site says about the story:
"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, like so many other local institutions in New Orleans, the 169-year-old Times-Picayune has found itself tested in unprecedented ways. The paper now sees itself as having dual roles: to cover the news about the devastation and reconstruction, but also to help heal the city's soul and advocate on its behalf.
"Jeffrey Brown reports on the paper's continuing efforts to report on the story of Hurricane Katrina and the region's slow march toward recovery."
You can hear it in RealAudio or listen through iTunes.
This is what the NewsHour web site says about the story:
"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, like so many other local institutions in New Orleans, the 169-year-old Times-Picayune has found itself tested in unprecedented ways. The paper now sees itself as having dual roles: to cover the news about the devastation and reconstruction, but also to help heal the city's soul and advocate on its behalf.
"Jeffrey Brown reports on the paper's continuing efforts to report on the story of Hurricane Katrina and the region's slow march toward recovery."
You can hear it in RealAudio or listen through iTunes.
March 26, 2006
Fiction Science
Just finished a fabulous novel (Intuition, by Allegra Goodman) about the scientific process and the world of postdocs working in labs. It's getting good reviews (mostly), including some raves from the scientific community.
Gina Kolata reviewed the book for the New York Times Science section on March 21, and said "At its base, 'Intuition' is a novel about scientific fraud. A postdoctoral student becomes suspicious that another postdoc's dazzling discovery might not be all it seems. His data seem too good to be true."
Her sources agree that the book is very representative of the postdoc world: " 'I think it's a unique book because it completely nails this world,' said Dr. Jerome Groopman, an oncologist and a professor of medicine at Harvard and the director of a laboratory there." and
Tom Schwarz, a researcher at Children's Hospital in Boston, read the book early on at the request of Ms. Goodman and "... said he began to read the book and could not believe it. Ms. Goodman had not interviewed him, and she had not been to his lab. But, Dr. Schwarz said, 'I saw myself and I saw things I knew, everything from the greasy falafels from the truck parked outside to the characters.' "
The characters and the story are compelling, especially as research is being fabricated (see: South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo Suk and Norwegian cancer researcher Jon Sudbo). And since I prefer my news fictionalized, this was a perfect read for me.
Gina Kolata reviewed the book for the New York Times Science section on March 21, and said "At its base, 'Intuition' is a novel about scientific fraud. A postdoctoral student becomes suspicious that another postdoc's dazzling discovery might not be all it seems. His data seem too good to be true."
Her sources agree that the book is very representative of the postdoc world: " 'I think it's a unique book because it completely nails this world,' said Dr. Jerome Groopman, an oncologist and a professor of medicine at Harvard and the director of a laboratory there." and
Tom Schwarz, a researcher at Children's Hospital in Boston, read the book early on at the request of Ms. Goodman and "... said he began to read the book and could not believe it. Ms. Goodman had not interviewed him, and she had not been to his lab. But, Dr. Schwarz said, 'I saw myself and I saw things I knew, everything from the greasy falafels from the truck parked outside to the characters.' "
The characters and the story are compelling, especially as research is being fabricated (see: South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo Suk and Norwegian cancer researcher Jon Sudbo). And since I prefer my news fictionalized, this was a perfect read for me.
Favorite Podcasts
I'll be linking to some of my favorite podcasts over on the left navigation bar of this blog. I listen to lots o' podcasts on my 2+ hour daily (round-trip) commute, and I wanted to have a place to park the ones I like best. They're not necessarily related to this blog, but I like 'em.
"Hi, Pat, your question is interesting"
Carol Tenopir’s March 1 column in Library Journal describes research by Marie Radford Lynn Silipigni Connaway into the social dynamics of chat, particularly in the relationship between librarians & patrons.
“They find that chat reference conversations are full of interpersonal ‘relational facilitators‘ and ‘relational barriers.‘“
Facilitators include “providing information about oneself, offering reassurance, using humor and informal language, and demonstrating interest or approval“, while barriers can include the librarians’ nemesis “negative closure”, such as an abrupt end to the session with a robotic script.
Overall, Tenopir reports that “positive relational facilitators outnumber relational barriers in chat transcripts by a ratio of 9 to 1 for librarians and about 3.5 to 1 for patrons. When informal, nonverbal, unscripted, positive interactions are initiated by the librarian, chances for a positive interaction and positive response from the patron increase.“
“They find that chat reference conversations are full of interpersonal ‘relational facilitators‘ and ‘relational barriers.‘“
Facilitators include “providing information about oneself, offering reassurance, using humor and informal language, and demonstrating interest or approval“, while barriers can include the librarians’ nemesis “negative closure”, such as an abrupt end to the session with a robotic script.
Overall, Tenopir reports that “positive relational facilitators outnumber relational barriers in chat transcripts by a ratio of 9 to 1 for librarians and about 3.5 to 1 for patrons. When informal, nonverbal, unscripted, positive interactions are initiated by the librarian, chances for a positive interaction and positive response from the patron increase.“
"Are search engines making students dumber?"
From today’s New York Times comes an editorial about search engines and students’ intellectual abilities over the past several years. Hmmm, is it really that search engines are making students “dumber”? Interesting argument, but I’m not sure I buy it.
At least he refers to Information Literacy as a way to help students improve their searching.
March 26, 2006
Opinion: Searching for Dummies
NYT
By EDWARD TENNER
Are search engines making today's students dumber?
At least he refers to Information Literacy as a way to help students improve their searching.
March 26, 2006
Opinion: Searching for Dummies
NYT
By EDWARD TENNER
Are search engines making today's students dumber?
March 24, 2006
Talks with Whales
Research News from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute: Warbling Whales Speak a Language All Their Own
“Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases that can be combined to form songs that last for hours.
...
" 'Humpback songs are not like human language, but elements of language are seen in their songs,' said Ryuji Suzuki, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) predoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and first author of the paper."
Human linguists, please note: "... the authors do not claim that humpback whale songs meet the linguistic rigor necessary for a true language."
Lots of information for the popular cognitive scientist at the HHMI site (including sound files of the whales talking to each other), or see “Information entropy of humpback whale songs,“ by Ryuji Suzuki, John R. Buck, and Peter L. Tyack (2006) The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Volume 119, Issue 3, pp. 1849-1866. The abstract is available for free; full-text may be available @ your library.
Thanks to Bob for the story.
“Researchers have now mathematically confirmed that whales have their own syntax that uses sound units to build phrases that can be combined to form songs that last for hours.
...
" 'Humpback songs are not like human language, but elements of language are seen in their songs,' said Ryuji Suzuki, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) predoctoral fellow in neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and first author of the paper."
Human linguists, please note: "... the authors do not claim that humpback whale songs meet the linguistic rigor necessary for a true language."
Lots of information for the popular cognitive scientist at the HHMI site (including sound files of the whales talking to each other), or see “Information entropy of humpback whale songs,“ by Ryuji Suzuki, John R. Buck, and Peter L. Tyack (2006) The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Volume 119, Issue 3, pp. 1849-1866. The abstract is available for free; full-text may be available @ your library.
Thanks to Bob for the story.
March 22, 2006
Another Great Vowel Shift?
NPR's Robert Siegel interviews William Labov about his book Atlas of North American English Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change. Haven't heard the piece myself yet, but according to the NPR link to the story, Labov "... says there is a shift of vowel sounds in the inland northern cities. He calls it the 'northern city shift.'"
You can see a demo of the online version of the book at Mouton/de Gruyter's web site.
Hmmm. I'd love to get my mitts on a copy of that book!
(thanks to Nicholas for the story link)
You can see a demo of the online version of the book at Mouton/de Gruyter's web site.
Hmmm. I'd love to get my mitts on a copy of that book!
(thanks to Nicholas for the story link)
Food for Thought
My favorite psychology podcast, Australia's ABC Radio National's All in the Mind recently reviewed some research which suggests that the amount of fish oil ingested affects our emotions.
The blurb on their site says:
"It’s now recognised that omega 3, essential fatty acids mainly found in fish, can help to prevent conditions like cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis – but the evidence is accumulating for just how important fish oil is for mental health and wellbeing. We hear some remarkable findings from a British study looking at the effect of giving fish oil supplements to children with ADHD and learning difficulties. And the figures showing significantly lower depression rates in countries which eat lots of seafood may give you an idea for tonight’s dinner!"
The brain and omega 3 – fishy or fact?
Saturday 18 March 2006.
Salmon, anyone?
The blurb on their site says:
"It’s now recognised that omega 3, essential fatty acids mainly found in fish, can help to prevent conditions like cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis – but the evidence is accumulating for just how important fish oil is for mental health and wellbeing. We hear some remarkable findings from a British study looking at the effect of giving fish oil supplements to children with ADHD and learning difficulties. And the figures showing significantly lower depression rates in countries which eat lots of seafood may give you an idea for tonight’s dinner!"
The brain and omega 3 – fishy or fact?
Saturday 18 March 2006.
Salmon, anyone?
March 19, 2006
Crossing the Chasm: from Cutting Edge to Practical Application
[shameless self-promotion] I’m going to speak at the Capital District Library Council in Albany about practical applications of emerging technologies on April 24. I’ll review some of LITA’s Top Technology Trends, discuss blogs (applications for libraries and for patrons) & wikis, and provide some tips on how to stay current with all of this.
All are welcome!
[/shameless self-promotion]
All are welcome!
[/shameless self-promotion]
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