Archive for the ‘Information Literacy’ Category
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Ebay Fraudster Sentenced
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida
Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Henry Gutierrez, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, announced the sentencing of defendant Nilton Rossoni, 50, formerly of Sunny Isles, FL, in connection with his role in a massive eBay fraud. Rossoni previously was indicted and convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley sentenced Rossoni to 68 months in federal prison.
According to the charges, filed court documents, and statements made in open court, between October 2003 and June 2008, Rossoni executed a scheme to unlawfully enrich himself by listing and selling thousands of items on eBay, but not actually shipping or delivering these items after having received payment from the winning bidders. To effectuate his scheme, Rossoni used false or fictitious names and addresses, or the real names and addresses of unsuspecting individuals whose identities had been stolen, to create multiple e-mail accounts with America Online, Yahoo, and other internet e-mail service providers who did not verify registration information.
Thereafter, defendant Rossoni registered and established hundreds of eBay accounts and used various names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses on those accounts to post items for auction. Rossoni would then purchase approximately 15 to 20 inexpensive items on eBay from himself and post positive “feedback” on the transaction. This feedback about the purported seller would become available for review by potential customers, who would be encouraged to conduct business as a result of the positive remarks about this seller.
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, Information Literacy, Legal, Privacy, Search News, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Inaccurate age and sex data in the Census PUMS files: Evidence and Implications (PDF; 209 KB)
We discover and document errors in public use microdata samples (”PUMS files”) of the 2000 Census, the 2003-2006 American Community Survey, and the 2004-2009 Current Population Survey. For women and men ages 65 and older, age- and sex-specific population estimates generated from the PUMS files differ by as much as 15% from counts in published data tables. Moreover, an analysis of labor force participation and marriage rates suggests the PUMS samples are not representative of the population at individual ages for those ages 65 and over. PUMS files substantially underestimate labor force participation of those near retirement ages and overestimate labor force participation rates of those at older ages. These problems were an unintentional by-product of the misapplication of a newer generation of disclosure avoidance procedures carried out on the data. The resulting errors in the public use data could significantly impact studies of people ages 65 and older, particularly analyses of variables that are expected to change by age.
Source: J. Trent Alexander, Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota; Michael Davern, NORC at the University of Chicago; Betsey Stevenson, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, CESifo, and NBER
Hat tip: Freakonomics blog
Posted in Government Documents and Political Information, Information Literacy, Papers, Presentations, Reports, Source File | No Comments »
Friday, January 15th, 2010
A Case For Digital Media Literacy: Tracking Down A Meme
Here are things to think about before retweeting something that you might need to “re-call” later:
- If a tweet sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This theme is very common in email hoaxes and legends.
- If a tweet sounds too bad to be true, it probably is. Think “so-and-so just died!”
- If the tweet contains a call to action but no link for verification, do not retweet without verifying!
- If the tweet is full of ALL CAPITALS and !!!! you probably want to run away.
- If the tweet is time-sensitive (related to a natural disaster or a major news story) then put on your virtual hoax-meter.
In other words, THINK before retweeting. Re-read the tweet; think critically about its message.
Source: Kathy Gill, Senior Lecturer at University of Washington, Blogger and Internet Consultant (WiredPen)
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Information Literacy, Search News, Social Media, Source File, Technology and Internet, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Authors: S.B. Ghos and Anup Kumar Das
Source: Information Literacy and Emerging Knowledge Economy in India., 2009
In: Library and Information Systems: From Alexandrian Heritage to Social Networking – Essays in Honour of Prof. S. Parthasarathy. SRELS, pp. 16-44. (Book Chapter) (via e-LIS)
From the Abstract:
The process of liberalization and globalization of Indian economy started in 1990s that catalyzed the emergence of knowledge economy in India. Since then many Indian corporate organizations established their presence outside the country, forming an informal India Inc. in competing globally. The information infrastructure situation in India has also improved a lot since 1990s, not only in the corporate organizations that exploit knowledge resources for the profit making, but also in the public institutions that generate knowledge for the development of all aspects of society and humanity. Judicious use of information resources, available now mainly in the public institutions, especially in the higher educational and research institutions, should be measured in terms of information literacy of the stakeholders. Information literacy is required for effective use, consumption and assessment of information resources available in the institutions. Information literacy can also bridge the gap between digital divide that we observe in many grass-root level initiatives in India in the forms of ‘common services centres’, ‘village knowledge centres’, ‘community information centres’, ‘e-choupals’, ‘gyandoot’, etc. ushered in with the participation of NGOs, developmental agencies and corporate organizations. Present study explores various initiatives in India that address information literacy in maximizing utilization of knowledge resources. This study also focuses on the various initiatives undertaken by different institutions, starting from the elementary level to the higher educational level, professional societies and other organizations.
Access the Full Text (14 pages; PDF)
Posted in Information Literacy | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
America’s Most Literate Cities, 2009
Drawing from a variety of available data resources, the America’s Most Literate Cities study ranks the largest cities (population 250,000 and above) in the United States. This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.
Top 10:
- Seattle, WA
- Washington, DC
- Minneapolis, MN
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Atlanta, GA
- Portland, OR
- St. Paul, MN
- Boston, MA
- Cincinnati, OH
- Denver, CO
Source: Center for Public Policy and Social Research, Central Connecticut State University
Posted in Information Literacy, Lists and Rankings, Search News, Source File | No Comments »
Friday, December 18th, 2009
From the Report:
Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at Illinois, says that schools and libraries should consider embracing texting and tweeting as a means of engagement rather than simply outlawing it.
“I think if you’re an educator or librarian looking for new ways of to reach out to teens and tweens, then texting is one possibility,” Tilley said. “Over 70 percent of teens have a cell phone, so I think it’s a viable alternate means of engaging with that age group.”
When used as a tool for ubiquitous learning, text messaging and tweeting wouldn’t be tools of distraction, but a means of engagement for this generation of gadget-obsessed teens.
“Teachers could send reminders about assignments, links to study guides or updates on their progress grading major projects by text or by tweet,” Tilley said. “If they’re away at a conference or need to use a sub for a day, they could use Twitter to stay in contact with their class without having to physically be there.”
Students could text reference questions to school librarians without having to ask for a hall pass or having to wait until lunch, Tilley said, and librarians might tweet about new materials added to their collections.
Access the Complete Report
Source: University of Illinois News Bureau
Posted in Information Literacy, Social Media | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Intute’s services are many including a first-rate directory of hand-selected web resources, The Virtual Training Suite, Internet Detective, and more. The good news (if there can be any) is that after August, 2010 the site/service will remain online but only with “minimal maintenance.” Exactly what that means is to be determined.
Caroline Williams, Executive Director of Intute writes:
We regret to inform our users and contributors that JISC has announced that its funding for Intute will be cut with effect from August 2010. It is JISC policy that, wherever possible, services move from being fully funded by JISC to being sustainable by other means. Unfortunately in the current economic climate no realistic alternative funding model for Intute as it currently stands has been identified.
Despite this JISC has acknowledged the pioneering work of Intute, its value to the community, and the insights it has given into the use of the Internet in education.
Our current service level will be maintained until 1 August 2010. After this date, Intute will still be available but with minimal maintenance. In addition, we are looking at possibilities to develop Informs and the Virtual Training Suite and offer these as membership services.
We would like to thank those who have used, contributed to and supported Intute over the years.
Our intention is to make a further announcement in early spring with a more detailed description of what we will be able to offer after 1 August 2010.
Source: Intute Blog
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Education, Information Literacy, Libraries and Librarianship, Reference Tools, Resources, Resources for Educators | No Comments »
Friday, December 11th, 2009
From the Article:
Swallow the doctor’s diagnosis whole, or spend weeks plowing through the primary research literature at a medical library—at the risk of alienating your physician. Those were two of the primary choices available to lay people diagnosed 20 years ago with a serious disease. Today, motivated patients can use the Internet to dive well beyond WebMD, by joining online support groups and research-mining communities that often know more detail about etiology and treatment nuances than just about any medical specialist.
[Snip]
The Journal of Participatory Medicine, a free online, open-access publication launched October 21 by the Society of Participatory Medicine at the Connected Health Symposium in Boston, aims to bring some science to bear on these questions, while also fortifying the field’s base and amassing relevant information and evidence.
Managing Editor Sarah Greene, who helped launch and build out the New York Times’s Health section online and various digital start-ups, said the new journal aims to “stimulate and publish research that shows that outcomes are improved when patients take responsibility for their health and are involved in the decision-making process. The research might point the other way—we don’t know. But we think there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that health care could be transformed when patients take responsibility for their health and are more central and really try to understand and even do their own research.”
Access the Complete Article
Source; Scientific American
Access Full Text: Journal of Participatory Medicine
Posted in Information Literacy, Information Seeking | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
This is a fee-based report from Primary Research for $89.50.
However, the summary/news release does contain some highlights.
The study presents data on how higher education faculty in the United States & Canada use the virtual reference services, subject specialists and info literacy staff of their academic library. It includes specific data on the percentage of faculty that use virtual reference, how often they use it, and similar data on awareness and use of library subject specialists, as well as data on contact with information literacy staff and tendency to incorporate info literacy concepts into teaching.
The data is based on a survey of more than 550 higher education faculty in the United States and Canada. Data is presented in the aggregate and for 12 criteria including size of college, type of college, academic title, academic field and other factors.
Selected Findings:
+ 70.53% of faculty in the sample have ever used their academic library’s virtual reference services. Use was far more likely in the USA than in Canada.
+ Only 37.76% of the faculty in the sample believed that their college library had a subject specialist in their area of scholarship.
+ Faculty at research universities were the least likely among faculty at various types of colleges to have added an info literacy component to their classes.
+ Faculty at specialized colleges, such as music conservatories and seminaries, for example, were more likely to need help than faculty at other types of colleges. More than 30% said that they needed help frequently and that the librarians usually come through for them.
+ Use of subject specialists was much higher by faculty at private than at public colleges.
Source: Primary Research
Posted in Information Literacy, Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Once again the always interesting and informative, Information Literacy Blog from Sheila Webber introduces some of us to ANTS (Animated Tutorial Sharing Project).
From the Post:
“The goal of the project is to create a shared repository of library, research, and information literacy tutorials created using screencast software such as Adobe Captivate, Qarbon Viewlet Builder, Techsmith’s Camtasia Studio , or similar products.” They recently announced that they have hit 99 tutorials and the tutorials can be accessed through various routes, including downloading the files and viewing them via http://liontv.blip.tv/ They are also starting to syndicate them via high definition on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/1LIONTV
Direct to the ANTS website.
Source: ANTS (via Info Literacy Blog)
Posted in Information Literacy, Information Seeking, Libraries and Librarianship | No Comments »
Friday, December 4th, 2009
From the Announcement:
The Association for Learning Technology’s Open Access Repository was formally launched at ALT’s annual conference ALT-C in September and is now available. The repository represents a long-awaited development in ALT’s work and services as it allows users to contribute assets and make them available via the repository. Since it went online the repository has had about 10,000 visitors, browsing, searching for and downloading journal articles, conference presentations, links to webinar recordings and similar content.
Built using EPrints software, the repository conforms to the minimum standards of the OpenDOAR policy supporting the aims of the Open Access movement and has been designed with its wider development in mind, ensuring that it remains a valuable resource in the long term. Currently the repository can be browsed by Library of Congress subject divisions or an evolving learning technology-based subject tree which ALT is developing in accordance with user requirements. This allows the repository to reflect the different user communities which become involved in it or use it to make their output widely available. Furthermore the repository is fully indexed by internet search engines thereby enabling users to find items without having to be on the repository itself.
Access the Repository
Access the Complete Announcement
Source: The Association for Learning Technology (via VIP)
Posted in Databases, Directories, and Guides, Education, Information Literacy, Resources, Source File, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
From the Announcement:
Today, the Federal Trade Commission opened new areas of a “virtual mall” with content that will help kids learn to protect their privacy, spot frauds and scams, and avoid identity theft. The FTC Web site, www.ftc.gov/YouAreHere, introduces key consumer and business concepts and helps youngsters understand their role in the marketplace. The FTC is the nation’s consumer protection agency.
“YouAreHere presents practical lessons about money and business in a fun and familiar setting,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The new content takes kids behind the scenes to raise their awareness of advertising and marketing, pricing and competition, fraud and identity theft.
[Snip]
The National Council for Economic Education has developed a lesson plan that prominently features YouAreHere; it is available on the Parents and Teachers page.
Posted in Information Literacy, Technology and Internet | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
From the Abstract:
A report of findings from 2,318 respondents to a survey carried out among college in six campuses distributed across the U.S. in the spring of 2009, as part of Project Information Literacy. Respondents, while curious in the beginning stages of research, employed a consistent and predictable research strategy for finding information, whether they were conducting course-related or everyday life research. Almost all of the respondents turned to the same set of tried and true information resources in the initial stages of research, regardless of their information goals. Almost all students used course readings and Google first for course-related research and Google and Wikipedia for everyday life research. Most students used library resources, especially scholarly databases for course-related research and far fewer, in comparison, used library services that required interacting with librarians. The findings suggest that students conceptualize research, especially tasks associated with seeking information, as a competency learned by rote, rather than as an opportunity to learn, develop, or expand upon an information-gathering strategy which leverages the wide range of resources available to them in the digital age.
Access the Complete Paper (42 pages; PDF)
See Also: Sheila Webber Has an Interesting Post Where She Lists Similar Surveys in the UK (via Information Literacy Blog)
See Also: Project Information Literacy Home Page
See Also: Project Information Literacy Videos
Source: University of Washington
Hat Tip: The Digital Librarian; S.C.
Posted in Information Literacy, Information Seeking | No Comments »
Friday, November 27th, 2009
From the Article:
While Brits are savvy with digital information services such as social web, catch up video services and price comparison websites, they are not making the most of the environmental information available to them online or following basic security measures.
[Snip]
The study revealed the divide between sophistication in the use of information in some segments (finance, culture and safety) and the lack of it in other areas (environment). For example, three out of every five consumers have used price comparison websites while over 70% were aware of password security and 60% have used video on demand services.
However, only one out of six respondents have calculated their carbon footprint online. Also, only one in three have researched environmental product information online or looked for information on how they can be greener.
It also highlighted the gender divide by finding that “savvy citizens” are more likely to be men between the age of 18 and 44, in full-time employment and were educated to a degree level. These users are also more likely to own new technologies such as smartphones and e-readers and spends more than ten hours a week on the internet.
Source: Information World Review
Posted in Information Literacy | No Comments »
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
2009 DQC Annual Survey Results
Each year, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) surveys all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to assess states’ progress toward implementing the 10 Essential Elements of a high-quality longitudinal data system. In 2005, no states reported having all 10 Elements. This year, 11 states have all 10 Elements (up from six states in 2008). Other signs of progress include:
- 31 states have eight or more Elements.
- Only two states have fewer than five Elements in place.
- All but one state collect student-level enrollment, demographic and program participation data (Element 2) and student-level graduation and dropout data (Element 8).
- All but two states have a unique student identifier that connects student data across key databases and across years (Element 1) and have the ability to match students’ test records from year to year to measure academic growth (Element 3).
Posted in Education, Government Documents and Political Information, Information Literacy, Papers, Presentations, Reports, Search News, Statistics | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
This is not my blogosphere
One of the things I always loved most about social media was the transparency it created. If a product, service, hotel, etc. was terrible, you could be sure that you’d hear about it from plenty of bloggers. On the other side of things, small companies and talented individuals were able to get noticed because of word-of-mouth marketing online. It used to be so easy to get really honest, unfiltered views of products, services, etc. on the web as people were writing reviews because they felt strongly about the product. Now the water has been muddied by PR folks and the people who feed at their swag-giving teat. Some people are writing reviews of things not because they bought a product and loved it or hated it, but because someone either paid them or gave them a freebie. And others aren’t reading to get honest reviews — they’re reading to get freebies from the manufacturer. It gives power back to the big corporations who can afford to spend the most on incentives, trips, etc. for bloggers. It’s such a sad perversion of what social media can offer.
Source: Meredith Farkas (Information Wants to Be Free)
See Also: Buying Your Friends and Followers on Social Networks (ResourceShelf, December 20, 2009)
This post is about uSocial and how they sell Twitter followers.
Posted in Consumer Issues, Information Literacy, Search News, Social Media, Technology and Internet, Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Note: If information literacy is an area that you keep a close watch on this blog is one you should be monitoring (if you aren’t already). You’ll see what I mean with the resource listed below. Sheila Webber the weblogs founder/editor/compiler, is a faculty member in the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK.
Sheila Webber Writes on the Information Literacy Weblog:
Thanks to Sophie Bury for highlighting this online tutorial for postgraduate research students and staff which has “Ruth” as your guide (a professional actress, and less irritating than many such guides). It was funded by the Irish Higher Education Authority, with NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork partnering to produce it.
Direct to Tutorial
Thanks for sharing Sheila!
Source: Information Literacy Weblog
Posted in Information Literacy | No Comments »
