Digital Destruction of Democracy

The Digital Destruction of Democracy

ANYA SCHIFFRIN JANUARY 21, 2019

https://prospect.org/article/digital-destruction-democracy

Anya Schiffrin is an adjunct faculty member at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. She worked in Hanoi from 1997 to 1999 as the bureau chief of Dow Jones Newswires.
Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics
By Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris, & Hal Roberts
Oxford University Press
A Harvard law professor who is a well-known theorist of the digital age, Benkler and colleagues have produced an authoritative tome that includes multiple taxonomies and literature reviews as well as visualizations of the flow of disinformation.
clickbait fabricators
white supremacist and alt-right trolls
a history of the scholarship on propaganda, reminding the reader that much of the discussion began in the 1930s.
Benkler’s optimistic 2007 book, The Wealth of Networks, predicted that the Internet would bring people together and transform the way information is created and spread. Today, Benkler is far less sanguine and has become one of the foremost researchers of disinformation networks.
Fox News, BreitbartThe Daily CallerInfoWars, and Zero Hedge
As a result, mainstream journalists repeat and amplify the falsehoods even as they debunk them.
There is no clear line, they argue, between Russian propaganda, Breitbart lies, and the Trump victory. They add that Fox News is probably more influential than Facebook.
after George Soros gave a speech in January 2018 calling for regulation of the social media platforms, Facebook hired a Republican opposition research firm to shovel dirt at George Soros.
The European Union has not yet tried to regulate disinformation (although they do have codes of practice for the platforms), instead focusing on taxation, competition regulation, and protection of privacy. But Germany has strengthened its regulations regarding online hate speech, including the liability of the social media platforms.
disclosure of the sources of online political advertising.It’s a bit toothless because, just as with offshore bank accounts, it may be possible to register which U.S. entity is paying for online political advertising, but it’s impossible to know whether that entity is getting its funds from overseas. Even the Honest Ads bill was too much for Facebook to take.

++++++++++++
more on the issues of digital world and democracy in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2019/02/19/facebook-digital-gangsters/

Well-being, Health, Happiness

The Power of Well-being: Health, Happiness and Success!

 50 mins

https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/15555/347129

Well-being is more than just living a healthy lifestyle. It is the complex combination of your physical, mental, emotional, and social health factors. Women often focus on the needs of those around them first, putting their own well-being on the back burner. This can result in a range of health issues – both physical and mental.

During this webinar, three experts will provide guidance to help you improve your overall well-being:

– 5 Easy Strategies to Boost Your Happiness at Work – Presented by Shelly Ryan, WHEN BEING and CAREER Advisor®, WHEN Manager

– Well-Being in the Workplace and at Home – Presented by Nancy Friedman, PsyD, Chief Being Officer

– What is Well-Being
The Key Elements of Well-Being
How Well-Being Impacts Your Life
4 Key Tools Proven to Increase Your Well-Being

– Healthy Living and Well-Being – The Art of Loving and Caring for Yourself – Elaine Stewart, ND, WHEN Chief Health Officer

– Finding Your WHEN® – Lisa Miller, VP of Strategic Development & Partner Liaison

++++++++++
more on mindfulness in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=mindfulness

Facebook Digital Gangsters

Facebook labelled ‘digital gangsters’ by report on fake news

Company broke privacy and competition law and should be regulated urgently, say MPs

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/18/facebook-fake-news-investigation-report-regulation-privacy-law-dcms

https://abcn.ws/2NjmNoZ

See also: https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2019/02/20/digital-destruction-of-democracy/

+++++++++++++
more on Facebook in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=facebook

Literature on Digital Humanities

Burdick, A. (2012). Digital humanities . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

https://mnpals-scs.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990078472690104318&context=L&vid=01MNPALS_SCS:SCS&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en

digital humanities is born f the encounter between traditional humanities and computational methods.

p. 5. From Humanism to Humanities
While the foundations of of humanistic inquiry and the liberal arts can be traced back in the west to the medieval trivium and quadrivium, the modern and human sciences are rooted in the Renaissance shift from a medieval, church dominated, theocratic world view to be human centered one period the gradual transformation of early humanism into the disciplines that make up the humanities today Was profoundly shaped by the editorial practices involved in the recovery of the corpus of works from classical antiquity

P. 6. The shift from humanism to the institution only sanctioned disciplinary practices and protocols that we associate with the humanities today is best described as a gradual process of subdivision and specialization.
P. 7. Text-based disciplines in studies (classics, literature, philosophy, the history of ideas) make up, from the very start, the core of both the humanities and the great books curricular instituted in the 1920s and 1930s.
P. 10. Transmedia modes of argumentation
In the 21st-century, we communicate in media significantly more varied, extensible, and multiplicative then linear text. From scalable databases to information visualizations, from video lectures to multi-user virtual platforms serious content and rigorous argumentation take shape across multiple platforms in media. The best digital humanities pedagogy and research projects train students both in “reading “and “writing “this emergent rhetoric and in understanding how the reshape and three model humanistic knowledge. This means developing critically informed literacy expensive enough to include graphic design visual narrative time based media, and the development of interfaces (Rather then the rote acceptance of them as off-the-shelf products).
P. 11. The visual becomes ever more fundamental to the digital humanities, in ways that compliment, enhance, and sometimes are in pension with the textual.
There is no either/or, no simple interchangeability between language and the visual, no strict sub ordination of the one to the other. Words are themselves visual but other kinds of visual constructs do different things. The question is how to use each to its best effect into device meaningful interpret wing links, to use Theodor Nelson’s ludic neologism.
P. 11. The suite of expressive forms now encompasses the use of sound, motion graphics, animation, screen capture, video, audio, and the appropriation and into remix sink of code it underlines game engines. This expanded range of communicative tools requires those who are engaged in digital humanities world to familiarize themselves with issues, discussions, and debates in design fields, especially communication and interaction design. Like their print predecessors, form at the convention center screen environments can become naturalized all too quickly, with the results that the thinking that informed they were designed goes unperceived.

p. 13.

For digital humanists, design is a creative practice harnessing cultural, social, economic, and technological constraints in order to bring systems and objects into the world. Design in dialogue with research is simply a picnic, but when used to pose in frame questions about knowledge, design becomes an intellectual method. Digital humanities is a production based in Denver in which theoretical issues get tested in the design of implementations and implementations or loci after your radical reflection and elaboration.
Did you thaw humanists have much to learn from communication and media design about how to juxtapose and integrate words and images create hire he is of reading, Forge pathways of understanding, deployed grades in templates to best effect, and develop navigational schemata that guide in produce meaningful interactions.
P. 15.  The field of digital digital humanities me see the emergence of polymaths who can “ do it all” : Who can research, write, shoot, edit, code, model, design, network, and dialogue with users. But there is also ample room for specialization and, particularly, for collaboration.
P. 16. Computational activities in digital humanities.
The foundational layer, computation, relies on principles that are, on the surface, at odds with humanistic methods.
P. 17. The second level involves processing in a way that conform to computational capacities, and this were explored in the first generation of digital scholarship and stylometrics, concordance development, and indexing.
P. 17.
Duration, analysis, editing, modeling.
Duration, analysis, editing, and modeling comprise fundamental activities at the core of digital humanities. Involving archives, collections, repositories, and other aggregations of materials, duration is the selection and organization of materials in an interpretive framework, argument, or exhibit.
P. 18. Analysis refers to the processing of text or data: statistical and quantitative methods of analysis have brought close readings of texts (stylometrics and genre analysis, correlation, comparisons of versions for alter attribution or usage patterns ) into dialogue with distant reading (The crunching cuff large quantities of information across the corpus of textual data or its metadata).
Edit think has been revived with the advent of digital media and the web and to continue to be an integral activity in textual as well as time based formats.
P. 18. Model link highlights the notion of content models- shapes of argument expressed in information structures in their design he digital project is always an expression of assumptions about knowledge: usually domain specific knowledge given an explicit form by the model in which it is designed.
P. 19.  Each of these areas of activity- cure ration, analysis, editing, and modeling is supported by the basic building blocks of digital activity. But they also depend upon networks and infrastructure that are cultural and institutional as well as technical. Servers, software, and systems administration are key elements of any project design.
P. 30. Digital media are not more “evolved” have them print media nor are books obsolete; but the multiplicity of media in the very processes of mediation entry mediation in the formation of cultural knowledge and humanistic inquiry required close attention. Tug link between distant and clothes, macro and micro, and surface in depth becomes the norm. Here, we focus on the importance of visualization to the digital humanities before moving on to other, though often related, genre and methods such as Locative investigation, thick mapping, animated archives, database documentaries, platform studies, and emerging practices like cultural analytics, data mining and humanities gaming.
P. 35. Fluid texture out what he refers to the mutability of texts in the variants and versions Whether these are produced through Authorial changes, anything, transcription, translation, or print production

Cultural Analytics, aggregation, and data mining.
The field of cultural Analytics has emerged over the past few years, utilizing tools of high-end computational analysis and data visualization today sect large-scale coach data sets. Cultural Analytic does Not analyze cultural artifacts, but operates on the level of digital models of this materials in aggregate. Again, the point is not to pit “close” hermeneutic reading against “distant” data mapping, but rather to appreciate the synergistic possibilities and tensions that exist between a hyper localized, deep analysis and a microcosmic view

p. 42.

Data mining is a term that covers a host of picnics for analyzing digital material by “parameterizing” some feature of information and extract in it. This means that any element of a file or collection of files that can be given explicit specifications,  or parameters, can be extracted from those files for analysis.
Understanding the rehtoric of graphics is another essential skill, therefore, in working at a skill where individual objects are lost in the mass of processed information and data. To date, much humanities data mining has merely involved counting. Much more sophisticated statistical methods and use of probability will be needed for humanists to absorb the lessons of the social sciences into their methods
P. 42. Visualization and data design
Currently, visualization in the humanities uses techniques drawn largely from the social sciences, Business applications, and the natural sciences, all of which require self-conscious criticality in their adoption. Such visual displays including graphs and charts, may present themselves is subjective or even unmediated views of reality, rather then is rhetorical constructs.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Warwick, C., Terras, M., & Nyhan, J. (2012). Digital humanities in practice . London: Facet Publishing in association with UCL Centre for Digital Humanities.

https://mnpals-scs.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990078423690104318&context=L&vid=01MNPALS_SCS:SCS&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en

 

Digital Humanities Workshop

Digital Humanities Workshop with Marina Rustow – February 28
1:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Wallin 15K (Elmer L. Andersen Library, lower level), University of Minnesota

Graduate students: Join us for a Digital Humanities Workshop with Marina Rustow, History & Near Eastern Studies, Princeton. Learn more here. Co-sponsored by the Center for Medieval Studies, DASH, and the James Ford Bell Library.

Mondo Nano Colin Milburn

Colin Milburn, Mondo Nano: Fun and Games in the World of Digital Matter

International Journal of Communication, 2019

<Maxwell Foxman Maxwell Foxman

Book Review of Colin Milburn’s book “Mondo Nano: Fun and Games in the World of Digital Matter”

This book comes as a refreshing response to “gamification” literature, which tends to focus on how games can be extended to solve problems. From
Jane McGonigal’s (2011) Reality is Broken
 to Brian Burke’s(2016) Gamify 
 or Karl M. Kapp’s (2012) The Gamification of Learning and Instruction,
these works rely heavily on game elements, design, and mechanics to explain relationships between play and the larger world.

Education and Ethics

4 Ways AI Education and Ethics Will Disrupt Society in 2019

By Tara Chklovski     Jan 28, 2019

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-28-4-ways-ai-education-and-ethics-will-disrupt-society-in-2019

In 2018 we witnessed a clash of titans as government and tech companies collided on privacy issues around collecting, culling and using personal data. From GDPR to Facebook scandals, many tech CEOs were defending big data, its use, and how they’re safeguarding the public.

Meanwhile, the public was amazed at technological advances like Boston Dynamic’s Atlas robot doing parkour, while simultaneously being outraged at the thought of our data no longer being ours and Alexa listening in on all our conversations.

1. Companies will face increased pressure about the data AI-embedded services use.

2. Public concern will lead to AI regulations. But we must understand this tech too.

In 2018, the National Science Foundation invested $100 million in AI research, with special support in 2019 for developing principles for safe, robust and trustworthy AI; addressing issues of bias, fairness and transparency of algorithmic intelligence; developing deeper understanding of human-AI interaction and user education; and developing insights about the influences of AI on people and society.

This investment was dwarfed by DARPA—an agency of the Department of Defence—and its multi-year investment of more than $2 billion in new and existing programs under the “AI Next” campaign. A key area of the campaign includes pioneering the next generation of AI algorithms and applications, such as “explainability” and common sense reasoning.

Federally funded initiatives, as well as corporate efforts (such as Google’s “What If” tool) will lead to the rise of explainable AI and interpretable AI, whereby the AI actually explains the logic behind its decision making to humans. But the next step from there would be for the AI regulators and policymakers themselves to learn about how these technologies actually work. This is an overlooked step right now that Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the U.S. Navy advises us to consider, as we create “humans-in-the-loop” systems, which require people to sign off on important AI decisions.

3. More companies will make AI a strategic initiative in corporate social responsibility.

Google invested $25 million in AI for Good and Microsoft added an AI for Humanitarian Action to its prior commitment. While these are positive steps, the tech industry continues to have a diversity problem

4. Funding for AI literacy and public education will skyrocket.

Ryan Calo from the University of Washington explains that it matters how we talk about technologies that we don’t fully understand.

 

 

 

Psychodynamics of Bullying in Libraries

The Psychodynamics of Bullying in Libraries
Steven W. Staninger

https://journals.tdl.org/llm/index.php/llm/article/view/7170/6381

Bullying in the workplace has been defined as:
The repeated actions and practices (of a perpetrator) that are directed to one or more
workers, which are unwanted by the victim, which may be done deliberately, or
unconsciously, but clearly cause humiliation, offense, distress, may interfere with job
performance, and/or cause an unpleasant working environment.

Bullying most often occurs within an organization where negative aspects of that
organizations’ culture aggregate.

The challenge for the library administrator is to identify where these accumulations are, and take steps to re-create the culture of that area and change the systems that allow bullying to occur. This is an essential function of an effective administraton

Bullies will almost always deny that what they are doing is bullying, particularly when the stated goal – or directive sent down from higher administrators – is to
move the organization “forward.”

Bullying includes but is not limited to unreasonable criticism of job performance, attempts to
control workplace interactions between peers, and creating unwritten policies. Other bullying
behaviors include assigning unrealistic workloads, ignoring and ridiculing suggestions about
library operations, and excessive monitoring that leaves employees excluded and isolated, not to mention exhausted.

Librarians would do well to honestly reflect and determine if they are participating in
bullying behaviors, and/or are watching it happen without attempting to take steps to call it out
for what it is.

Library administrators should be vigilant about identifying bullying and addressing it before it becomes ingrained in the institutional culture.

As Reed notes, “Toxic leadership, like leadership in general, is more easily described then
defined, but terms like self-aggrandizing, petty, abusive, indifferent to unit climate, and
interpersonally malicious seem to capture the concept.” 17 Distressingly, a library with a culture of bullying corrupts those who serve it, marginalizing those with initiative and new ideas and rewarding the sycophants. Ultimately, bullying creates a continuous fear of failure, so people work to avoid being bullied instead of attending to their assigned tasks. The result is an ineffective library that falls well short of its intended mission

+++++++++++++++++++++++
more on bullying in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=bullying

Reading Digesting Scholarly Research

ELI Webinar | Reading & Digesting Scholarly Research: Tips to Save Time While Increasing Understanding

Tuesday, February 26 | 1:00p.m. – 2:00p.m. ET | Online

Reading and digesting scholarly research can be challenging when new journal issues, reports, and books are being released every day. Join Katie Linder, director of research for Oregon State University Ecampus, to learn some tips that will help you find scholarly research that’s applicable to your work, read that research more efficiently, evaluate the quality of scholarly research, and decide on the applicability of the research you’re reading to your day-to-day work. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask any questions you might have about reading and digesting scholarly research.

Outcomes

  • Find the scholarly research that is of most importance to your work
  • Read scholarly research efficiently
  • Evaluate the quality of scholarly research
  • Decide when and how to apply scholarly research results in your work

Katie Linder Research Director, Ecampus Oregon State University https://members.educause.edu/kathryn-linder

game based learning

How Game-Based Learning Empowers Students for the Future

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-22-its-2019-so-why-do-21st-century-skills-still-matter

educators’ guide to game-based learning, packed with resources for gaming gurus and greenhorns alike.

How are schools and districts preparing students for future opportunities? What is the impact of game-based learning?

It’s 2019. So Why Do 21st-Century Skills Still Matter?

By Suzie Boss     Jan 22, 2019

21st-century trends such as makerspaces, flipped learning, genius hour, gamification, and more.

EdLeader21, a national network of Battelle for Kids.has developed a toolkit to guide districts and independent schools in developing their own “portrait of a graduate” as a visioning exercise. In some communities, global citizenship rises to the top of the wish list of desired outcomes. Others emphasize entrepreneurship, civic engagement, or traits like persistence or self-management.

ISTE Standards for Students highlight digital citizenship and computational thinking as key skills that will enable students to thrive as empowered learners. The U.S. Department of Education describes a globally competent student as one who can investigate the world, weigh perspectives, communicate effectively with diverse audiences, and take action.

Frameworks provide mental models, but “don’t usually help educators know what to do differently,” argues technology leadership expert Scott McLeod in his latest book, Harnessing Technology for Deeper Learning. He and co-author Julie Graber outline deliberate shifts that help teachers redesign traditional lessons to emphasize goals such as critical thinking, authenticity, and conceptual understanding.

1. Wondering how to teach and assess 21st-century competencies? The Buck Institute for Education offers a wide range of resources, including the book, PBL for 21st Century Success: Teaching Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity (Boss, 2013), and downloadable rubrics for each of the 4Cs.

2. For more strategies about harnessing technology for deeper learning,listen to the EdSurge podcast featuring edtech expert and author Scott McLeod.

3. Eager to see 21st-century learning in action? Getting Smart offers suggestions for using school visits as a springboard for professional learning, including a list of recommended sites. Bob Pearlman, a leader in 21st century learning, offers more recommendations.

++++++++++++++
more on game- based learning in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=game+based

1 185 186 187 188 189 493