The Thanksgiving holiday marks the beginning of Shoppers Gone Wild, the annual rite of consumerism that begins with Black Friday and only ends with the after-Christmas sales. Whether or not you become part of the American retail engine that engages this weekend, its history and elements are intriguing. Time magazine runs down the history of Black Friday in this article, explaining how the term originally referred to a nineteenth-century economic crash. Only later did "black" assume a more positive meaning, referring to a retailers being "in the black" of profit rather than the "red ink" of loss. Black Friday has found its online corollary in Cyber Monday, the bane of employers everywhere. Paste Magazine offers this brief history of the quasi-official start to the online shopping season.
Most Wanted
No discussion of holiday shopping would be complete without a look back at the "it" toy of Christmases past. Buysight Insights provides a picture of all of the most popular toys from 1960 through 2008 while Forbes offers some information about popular toys from the last 100 years. To get an in-depth view of some of the most popular toys of all time, check out the National Toy Hall of Fame, where you can find out about individual inductees, like 2010's game of Life and the Deck of Cards. Hubpages offers up its core list of 2010's most wanted gifts as well as some specialized lists as well. And Listverse offers some cautionary advice with a list of the Top 10 Most Returned Gifts.
Dark Side of Shopping
But for many people, shopping seems to have a dark side. Although it has yet to be officially recognized by the American Psychological Association (it has been recognized by the comparable German organization (Deutsche Gesellschaft Zwangserkrankungen), Compulsive Buying Disorder is certainly receiving more attention as purchasing becomes easier and easier using electronic methods. This article in World Psychiatry is just an example. Think you or someone you know may have problems with shopping? Here's a great list of warning signs and behavioral patterns of people who shop in unhealthy ways.
Choosing to Not Shop
Not everyone opts to participate in the annual shopping fest, and some choose to go so far as to actively protest it by participating in an event called Buy Nothing Day. Buying nothing, as the organization's site makes clear, is harder than you think when you include those little unnoticed purchases like interest accrual. Here's Adbusters recommended carnivalesque alternatives to shopping on Friday. But Buy Nothing has generated criticism, much of it from the political left.
Whether you buy or don't buy, have a great beginning to the holiday season!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Plagiarism--Identify Theft of the Mind
As it gets toward the end of the academic term, it seems like a good opportunity to look over one of the thorniest academic and ethical problems -- plagiarism. With the advent of the internet, plagiarism assumed a whole new aspect in academia as the ease of the "copy" and "paste" functions made it so much simpler to manipulate blocks of text, not to mention artwork and other media. This development led to the rise and (because this is America) adjudication of plagiarism detectors such as Turnitin.com, currently used by DACC. The result is an arms race of intellectual technology.
On its surface, plagiarism seems like a relatively easy to understand concept. Here's the definition from the Student Rights and Responsibilities section in the DACC Student Handbook: "Plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. It is the student’s responsibility to properly summarize and/or paraphrase content derived from information sources and to give proper credit to each original source (according to the course documentation of citation standard), when the student has used thoughts, words, or any content from other sources in the completion of assignments."
Cultural Misunderstandings
But the problems of plagiarism often arise from communication failure. Often students simply aren't clear on exactly what constitutes plagiarism. For example, what is viewed as plagiarism, or perhaps more accurately, serious academic plagiarism, can vary culturally. Washington State University offers a good general overview of this situation, while Concordia University summarizes a study by Andrew Ryder that demonstrates that what is plagiarism in the United States is good academic practice in other locations. Al Jamiat, a site dedicated to helping Middle-Eastern students be more successful in U.S. colleges and universities, makes it even clearer by means of a concrete example.
What to Cite
Another tricky aspect of the plagiarism problem for students arises from the issue of what constitutes Common Knowledge, that cloudy area of information that does not require citation because of its intimate familiarity. Yale Univeristy demonstrates just how murky these waters can get in an excellent site addressing the topic. Adams State College offers some additional help on making decisions about common knowledge, while Springfield Township High School's Virtual Library makes one distinction particularly nicely on its page -- the importance of citing an author's interpretation of the significance of a particular piece of common knowledge. Both the Yale and the Adams State sites emphasize the importance of students clarifying with instructors (and by inference, instructors clarifying with students) the types of things viewed as common knowledge within their own field.
When to Cite
Even when citation is needed is not quite as simple as it first looks. The answer can vary from one discipline to the next and even from one situation to another. Yale University again offers some helpful demonstrations of the problems as well as some guidelines, including situations, such as lab work and computer programs, that move beyond the simple "research paper" context that are the only introduction many students may ever get to the topic. Unfortunately, depending on their program or point in their program where they are at, many students may never get or have gotten that by the time they encounter a particular assignment. Plagiarism.org provides a useful list of many reasons that students unintentionally plagiarize information through a variety of misunderstandings.
Two important skills students need to learn, and that instructors can encourage students to continue to develop in place of extensive quotation, are how to paraphrase and summarize works properly. Here are sites that offer help on these invaluable skills: Plagiarism.org, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue, and Yale. DACC's own Writer's Room can also offer assistance in this area (as well as citation) and students should be encouraged to visit it for assistance.
Plagiarism Education
Given the various factors complicating students' understanding of plagiarism, the key to reducing plagiarism is assignment design and communication. Washington State University offers strategies to help reduce the problem. Part of that education is to provide students with a grounded understanding of why citation is important, something that most conceive of in only the vaguest terms. Some students may even believe that citing their work makes it look as though they only copied others' ideas, and it is important to clarify this misconception. For instructors who want to help their students improve their knowledge of plagiarism, here's a nifty online tutorial and quiz students can take to help them (and you!) improve their general understanding. Discipline specifics, however, will still depend on the instructor-student relationship.
On its surface, plagiarism seems like a relatively easy to understand concept. Here's the definition from the Student Rights and Responsibilities section in the DACC Student Handbook: "Plagiarism: Representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. It is the student’s responsibility to properly summarize and/or paraphrase content derived from information sources and to give proper credit to each original source (according to the course documentation of citation standard), when the student has used thoughts, words, or any content from other sources in the completion of assignments."
Cultural Misunderstandings
But the problems of plagiarism often arise from communication failure. Often students simply aren't clear on exactly what constitutes plagiarism. For example, what is viewed as plagiarism, or perhaps more accurately, serious academic plagiarism, can vary culturally. Washington State University offers a good general overview of this situation, while Concordia University summarizes a study by Andrew Ryder that demonstrates that what is plagiarism in the United States is good academic practice in other locations. Al Jamiat, a site dedicated to helping Middle-Eastern students be more successful in U.S. colleges and universities, makes it even clearer by means of a concrete example.
What to Cite
Another tricky aspect of the plagiarism problem for students arises from the issue of what constitutes Common Knowledge, that cloudy area of information that does not require citation because of its intimate familiarity. Yale Univeristy demonstrates just how murky these waters can get in an excellent site addressing the topic. Adams State College offers some additional help on making decisions about common knowledge, while Springfield Township High School's Virtual Library makes one distinction particularly nicely on its page -- the importance of citing an author's interpretation of the significance of a particular piece of common knowledge. Both the Yale and the Adams State sites emphasize the importance of students clarifying with instructors (and by inference, instructors clarifying with students) the types of things viewed as common knowledge within their own field.
When to Cite
Even when citation is needed is not quite as simple as it first looks. The answer can vary from one discipline to the next and even from one situation to another. Yale University again offers some helpful demonstrations of the problems as well as some guidelines, including situations, such as lab work and computer programs, that move beyond the simple "research paper" context that are the only introduction many students may ever get to the topic. Unfortunately, depending on their program or point in their program where they are at, many students may never get or have gotten that by the time they encounter a particular assignment. Plagiarism.org provides a useful list of many reasons that students unintentionally plagiarize information through a variety of misunderstandings.
Two important skills students need to learn, and that instructors can encourage students to continue to develop in place of extensive quotation, are how to paraphrase and summarize works properly. Here are sites that offer help on these invaluable skills: Plagiarism.org, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue, and Yale. DACC's own Writer's Room can also offer assistance in this area (as well as citation) and students should be encouraged to visit it for assistance.
Plagiarism Education
Given the various factors complicating students' understanding of plagiarism, the key to reducing plagiarism is assignment design and communication. Washington State University offers strategies to help reduce the problem. Part of that education is to provide students with a grounded understanding of why citation is important, something that most conceive of in only the vaguest terms. Some students may even believe that citing their work makes it look as though they only copied others' ideas, and it is important to clarify this misconception. For instructors who want to help their students improve their knowledge of plagiarism, here's a nifty online tutorial and quiz students can take to help them (and you!) improve their general understanding. Discipline specifics, however, will still depend on the instructor-student relationship.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Illinois' Native American Heritage
Chief Illiniwek
For many in downstate Illinois, the mention of the word "Indian" is most likely to conjure up the image and controversy over the former symbol of the University of Illinois. That this issue stirs deep feelings in people can be seen by the recent flare-up over a Homecoming event and the push by some for the University to adopt a new mascot. Many people who can argue passionately on the subject of the Chief know little about the true history of the Illinois people (the term Illini, by the way, is a misnomer, a meaningless term), a group of interconnected tribes that numbered at least a dozen at one point and have been reduced to one relocated tribe today -- the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma that actually contains two of the original Illinois tribes as well as the Wea and Piankashaw tribes. The Confederated Peoria shared their reservation with a portion of the Miami tribe as well. In any case, the Illinois are not an "extinct nation" but rather one whose current status has largely been misunderstood and misrepresented by outsiders.
The entire mascot issue is a vexed one for some people. They don't understand why a beloved tradition is causing such an uproar and think people are just too sensitive, while others can't understand why people have difficulty grasping the way in which racial or ethnic mascots demean people. The Honor the Chief society typifies local groups efforts to resist challenges to beloved school symbols. On the other side, Blue Corn Comics offers a good overview of why Native American mascots and logos dehumanize the people they depict. The Peoria tribe's own view on the Chief was made clear when it sent a copy of its resolution requesting the University of Illinois to cease use of Chief Illiniwek to the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media (Item 50.) Similarly the tribe was present when votes were taken on all resolutions by the National Congress of American Indians protesting any use of Indian "mascots, logos and symbols" as perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
Heritage and Identity
One of the thorny difficulties related to American Indian life today is that of identity. This factor comes up in relation to mascot controversies when people cite different poll numbers that allow individuals to self-identify as Native American. In these instances it is important to determine how pollsters identified their polling population. Even the population who identified themselves on the census as belonging to a Native ethnic group struggle with with what being Native American means and who exactly is one. Excellent essays on this subject can be found in the library's American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience database (user ID and password required off campus). For readers interested in exploring their own Native American heritage, TribalDirectory offers information on how to begin.
Black Hawk
Illinois's most famous Native American historical figure is probably Black Hawk, although there are certainly others with ties to the state that played important historical roles, such as Ely Parker and Keokuk. This legendary leader of the Sauk led his people in a war against the U.S. army over what the Sauk and Fox nations saw as an illegal treaty (or at best a misunderstanding) that was forcing them to surrender lands they regarded as theirs in Illinois and move across the Mississippi. For a detailed look at the events and personalities of the war, check out the Black Hawk War of 1832 sponsored by Northern Illinois University's Lincoln/Net digitization project. Black Hawk's autobiography is available for free online through Project Gutenberg.
Cahokia Mounds
The largest archeological site in the United States is here in Illinois at Cahokia Mounds, which is the largest prehistoric Native American city north of Mexico. It also includes the third largest pyramid in the Americas in Monks Mound. During the period from 1,100 to 1,200 A.D. this city, the name of which remains unknown, covered more than 6 square miles and encompassed a population of more than 15,000 and 20,000. It would be more than 600 years before another city in what is now the U.S. would attain this population (Philadelphia) and by that point the Cahokia were long gone. Another factor making the Cahokia site unique is the apparent large scale human sacrifice that was included as cultural practice during at least part of their existence, at least according to Cahokia scholar Timothy Pauketat. This Washington Post story provides a good summary of the civilization and its history.
Piasa Monster
And finally for flights of fancy, few beat Alton, Illinois' Piasa Bird or Piasa Monster. According to some, the Piasa bird is a legendary beast portrayed in a petroglyph by the Illinois Indians on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Others remain firmly convinced that the "legend" was a story crafted by whites in the 1800s. In either case, it remains an engaging story of the way the two cultures interact with one another.
Explore other interesting sources of American Indian heritage at: the Native American Heritage Month site, which provides access to all of the major government resources related to the celebration.
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