NunatsiaqOnline 2011-02-08: NEWS: Could iPad save the Inuit language?
Recommended Reading: Good Faith Collaboration: How Wikipedia works
Good Faith Collaboration: How Wikipedia works: "
Joseph Reagle Jr's Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia is exactly what a popular, scholarly work should be: serious but not slow, intelligent but not dull, and esoteric but not obscure. It's practically a textbook example on how to adapt a dissertation as a trade book -- dropping the literature review, moderating the stuff that's meant to prove you've done your homework, and diving straight into the argument.
Reagle, an avid wikipedian himself, nevertheless takes up an objective distance and tries to suss out how it is that Wikipedia works as well as it does (I'm always amazed by critics who characterize Wikipedia as a hopeless quagmire of argument -- there's certainly a lot of argument there, but hopeless? If it's so hopeless, how did those millions of articles get written and edited?). His thesis: Wikipedia works because it has a distinctive culture of assumed good faith; that is, there is a powerful (though not universal) norm of assuming that the person on the other side of the argument is every bit as committed as you are to getting high quality, accurate encyclopedic entries written and maintained.
Reagle makes an excellent case that this assumption of good faith is particularly powerful when it comes to dealing with those who lack good faith -- it creates positive outcomes for arguments with everyone from neo-Nazis to political hacks who're whitewashing their boss's entries. It's also the force counteracts the natural contentiousness of assembling an encyclopedia (let alone one that the public may edit!) and keeps the project from flying apart into millions of angry pieces.
Reagle offers fascinating evidence for this hypothesis starting with the founding of Wikipedia as an offshoot of the defunct Nupedia project, on through the many challenges and growing pains suffered by the site, and uses it to carefully counter Wikipedia's detractors who, by turns, accuse it of being too elitist, too populist, unserious, too serious, collectivist and marred by individualism.
Ultimately, Reagle offers a compelling case that Wikipedia's most fascinating and unprecedented aspect isn't the encyclopedia itself -- rather, it's the collaborative culture that underpins it: brawling, self-reflexive, funny, serious, and full-tilt committed to the project, even if it means setting aside personal differences. Reagle's position as a scholar and a member of the community makes him uniquely situated to describe this culture.
Reagle is a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, whose fellows have produced such notable Internet books as Lessig's Code, Zittrain's The Future of the Internet, Benkler's Wealth of Networks and David Weinberger's Small Pieces, Loosely Joined -- Reagle's book is a worthy addition to that canon.
Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia
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Pasch Dissertation Published by ProQuest
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| Inuktitut online in Nunavik: Mixed-methods Web-based strategies for preserving Aboriginal and minority languages |
| by Pasch, Timothy James, Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, 2008, 311 pages; 3345576 |
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About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year. If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.il.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042. |
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| Copyright © 2007 ProQuest. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions |
UW Title VI Report mentions Pasch
A University of Washington report on $17.2 million in Title VI (foreign languages and international affairs) grant renewals from the U.S. Department of Education focuses on UND Assistant Professor of Communication Timothy Pasch’s Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship in the Canadian Arctic.
Oct. 7, 2010
New grants keep UW at top of schools receiving Title VI funding
| By Catherine O'Donnell News and Information |
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According to Resat Kasaba, who became director of the Jackson School in August, the National Resource awards put the UW ahead of 43 other institutions in number of centers per school. The UW is tied with the University of Wisconsin in number of centers, and is second only to that school in dollar amount awarded.
Title VI money supports learning of foreign languages and international affairs. As many as 500 graduate and undergraduate students will receive full scholarships to study a foreign language.
Tim Pasch, who obtained a doctorate at the UW and is now an assistant professor of communication at the University of North Dakota, had a Title VI fellowship to study the language and culture of the Inuit people of northern Quebec. "My academic program has been enriched beyond my expectations," he said.
Other uses for the funds include public lectures, seminars for K-12 teachers and specialized courses.
The two oldest Jackson School centers -- the East Asia Center and the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies -- are each 100 years old. The newest one, the Center for West European Studies, was founded in 1994. Other centers are Canadian Studies, Global Studies, Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
"The UW's success in this round of Title VI competition is testament to the University's deep expertise and leading national and international role in global studies," said Steve Hanson, vice provost for global affairs.
The Global Business Center, one of 33 federally funded centers at business schools around the country, makes possible such things as MBA study tours, exchange programs and the Certificate of International Studies in Business.
The new money from the Department of Education will also help fund 32 new Business Center initiatives particularly important to the Pacific Northwest. They include a workshop for small and medium-size companies on doing business in China and a series of conferences on energy-based economies.
About 30 percent of Foster School undergraduates study abroad each year. The center aims to increase the number to 50 percent by 2014.
"Global Business education is critical to the future success of our students and to U.S. competitiveness," said James Jiambalvo, dean of the Foster School.
Site Updated
This corresponds in part with the end of a particularly eventful year.
Now employed at the University of North Dakota, my activities can be found on the Curriculum Vitae embedded on the site, along with Professional Statement.
As always, I can be contacted via the contact page on this site, or via email at
timothy.pasch@und.edu
Timothy J. Pasch, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Communication
University of North Dakota
Merrifield Hall Room 218
276 Centennial Drive Stop 7209
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8380
timothy.pasch@und.edu
206-391-0890 cellular
701-777-2128 office/fax
Working on a writing workflow
Endnote has been a thorn in my side for some time. Their upgrades are very expensive and it crashes Word 2008 (Mac) on a semi-regular basis. It's much better on the Windows side (Word 2007). I've tried using my Windows 7 Vmware Fusion guest for word processing (for those who haven't tried it, it's great to run both Windows and Mac at the same time!) but it's still clunky and slow for me to move files between the two OSes.
The most exciting tool for my writing lately is called Scrivener. It's a fantastic writing tool that's something like Ableton Live for Audio, you can easily drag and drop sections of your manuscript to create a more cohesive narrative. I find this flexible writing system very powerful and it allows a much more forgiving style of organization than Word.
Word, in general, while still looking very slick, is such a behemoth of a program, takes a while to load and crashes far too often for my liking. I prefer light and fast applications. Bean is another great option, but doesn't offer reference tool integration.
I've been experimenting with Bookends which apparently plays very well with Scrivener. This seems to be an excellent solution. Some of the power users are exporting from Scrivener to LaTeX and rendering there, but I don't think I'll go that route for now as I've seen how complex TeX can get at times. This week I'll keep writing in Scrivener and experiment with inserting references using Bookends.
The last thing I want to mention is the program Papers, it's a fantastic tool for grabbing journal articles but it's been frustrating me a great deal lately due to its clunky browsing system. It's impossible for me to add new tabs even though the developers say that it should be possible! I may have to reinstall it and see what happens...
All in all I would very much like to see more integration between these tools, with easy drag and drop reference management between programs. I want my citations to appear correctly no matter what program I use them in, with stable and light Word Processors providing backup. I hope that the Papers/Scrivener/Bookends system will work out well. The final export will probably be to Word but we'll see.
As always, any suggestions/comments very much appreciated!
Tim
Teaching a Class today
"Hacking your Mac for Academic Research".
I've been looking forward to this one, it's focusing on Word 2008 for Mac and Endnote integration, the new program called "Papers" for finding research on the web, and a lot of other tips and tricks I've learned while conducting research. All together we'll focus on:
Word 2008
Endnote X1
Iclip
Copypaste Pro
Papers
Skitch
DevonAgent
I've got a Powerpoint, I'll throw it in the downloads section.
I've been busy but as soon as I finish a big project this week I'll start with the video screencast tutorials of some of these great apps!
Until next time :)
Test of MarsEdit
Net Neutrality Concerns Increase
Please feel free to contact me using the 'contact' page!
This site will become a central hub for my projects, and will eventually host audio, video, and the webstore. The podcasts will also be hosted on this page. Enjoy!
-Tim
Arctic Sovereignty Debate
Arctic nations will 'follow the rules' in North Pole sovereignty debate.
I am concerned about this Arctic development, as the ‘rules’ that will be followed will invariably be concerned with the economic developing of the signing nations at the expense of the natural resources, culture and environment of the Inuit.
It goes without saying that this land is the hunting ground of the Inuit people.
The main explanation for development in the region is summarized here:
“Interest in the region is intensifying because global warming is shrinking the polar ice, and that could someday open up resource development and new shipping lanes. A U.S. study suggests the region may hold 25 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas”.
Although Canada signed the treaty I am interested in whether the Inuit delegation, including the Makivik Corporation in Nunavik, are involved in this treaty. I will investigate.
Tim Pasch
Update
Life in Seattle is excellent, the rains are slowing and spring is definitely here. The possibilities with technology are vast here in the Pacific Northwest.
My concerns for the environment continue to grow, and the prices of gasoline continue to climb, which is definitely a blessing in disguise.
On the technology front I am running VMware Fusion in a Macbook Pro, for the first time using WIndows successfully inside a UNIX system.
I have created a working partition of Ubuntu Linux and am exploring there. The most exciting thing is that I can now run SPSS, Nvivo and Eviews in a Windows Partition on my Mac, making research seamless and preparation for publication much more streamlined. This is a great thing as my life right now is all about publications!
Otherwise, family life is great and I must stay focused on writing the dissertation- it seems endless but slow progress is the key.
Conference a success!
New site is up.
www.timpasch.com
I will be continuing my blog there, however thanks to a new program called MarsEdit I hope to be able to post the blogs here on blogger as well as on my site.
I have been lazy about writing lately however now I hope to begin 2008 with newly inspired writing.
As I have a dissertation to finish I will be writing non-stop...perhaps this practice will assist in motivating me to start early every morning!
Focus the Nation Conference tomorrow
Site is up!
Today, in addition to working on the site, I was attempting to overclock my main studio computer. This is an art form, as I discovered, and there is a whole litany of tricks, techniques and equipment designed to achieve this goal of getting more speed than you should out of a computer. Unfortunately I pushed things a little too far and for a while I felt like I had destroyed everything. It turns out that I lost a hard drive however.
Luckily it wasn't a critical one and I should be able to restore most of the data. I learned my lesson though- no more overclocking for the time being.
First Entry
Please feel free to contact me using the 'contact' page!
This site will become a central hub for my projects, and will eventually host audio, video, and the webstore. The podcasts will also be hosted on this page. Enjoy!
-Tim
Go North, young man | Arctic sea ice, Climate change, Northwest Passage | TerraPass: Fight global warming, promote alternative energy
TerraPass, a carbon credit based sustainability energy broker (you can offset the carbon emissions from your vehicle or flights through their services) has posted this article on the state of the arctic thaw and the 'no-longer-fabled Northwest Passage'. As I saw in Nunavik, not only language and culture are changing, but the entire geography and way of life are being altered. Now more than ever the Inuit are relevant on the International Stage as the peoples most visibly affected by climate change. Here's the most recent post from the TerraPass blog:
Go North, young man
by Adam Stein
You may have heard that the Arctic is disappearing. Sea ice is at the lowest level ever recorded. Last month, a chunk of ice the size of Florida (!) disappeared in the span of six days. Polar bears are officially screwed. The no-longer-fabled Northwest Passage has opened up several decades ahead of schedule.
I mention all of this depressing news so that I can bring your attention to the exploits of Ben Jervey, a friend of TerraPass and author of the much-loved Big Green Apple guide to eco-friendly living in New York. Ben right now is on a small boat somewhere north of Greenland, exploring firsthand the effects of climate change in the Arctic.
The trip is part of Cape Farewell, a project that “brings artists, scientists and educators together to collectively address and raise awareness about climate change.” Cape Farewell has a pretty amazingly slick web site that ties together a ton of video and written content, including Ben’s personal blog charting his trip to Greenland and beyond by sailing vessel.
It’s got polar bears, ice bergs, Northern Lights — the whole Arctic enchilada. Check it out.
Go North, young man | Arctic sea ice, Climate change, Northwest Passage | TerraPass: Fight global warming, promote alternative energy
Arctic thaw opens fabled trade route
Arctic thaw opens fabled trade route: "Science & environment: The Arctic's sea covering has shrunk so much that the Northwest Passage has opened up for the first time."
(Via Guardian Unlimited home | Guardian Unlimited.)
Arctic melt opening up Northwest Passage
Arctic melt opening up Northwest Passage: "PARIS-Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane."
(Via Toronto Star.)
Record sea ice loss opens Northwest Passage
Record sea ice loss opens Northwest Passage: "Sea ice in the Arctic has sunk to its lowest level since satellite record-keeping began, fully opening the most direct route through the Northwest Passage."
(Via CBC | World News.)
NPR : Nations Jostle for a Share of the Arctic
NPR : Nations Jostle for a Share of the Arctic: "
CLIMATE CONNECTIONS
This article is just one of many articles starting to flood the international media about the Canadian Arctic. This last week in particular has seen a flood of news stories concerning the plight of the polar bear and the vastly underestimated scale of melting ice in the North. Although the polar bear may be an easily identifiable posterchild for Arctic warming, the case of Inuit lands being despoiled through international use of the Northwest Passage are just as critical. Since returning to Seattle from Nunavik I have been taking time to digest all the experiences and have begun organizing my thoughts, it took me a while to get used to things again; my memories of my Inuit family and experiences on the land are very strong and vivid in my mind. Here's another article concerning NOAA's opinion.
NOAA Affirms Sea Ice Will Shrink in Half: "Summer sea ice will probably recede 300 to 500 miles off Alaska's north coast by 2050, compared to the 1980s when ice packs were only 30 to 50 miles off the coast, and decrease to half the size. Mammals dependent on the sea ice, such as polar bears, and fishermen will suffer. Federal scientists compared computer simulations of how warming would affect sea ice with 20 years' of observations.
(Via Wired News.)
Inuit Wedding in Inukjuaq
The last few days in Inukjuaq
I noticed so many different types of mushrooms, berries, roots, a herbalist's dream. The grandparents told us about legends of the caribou (they used to be the rulers of the world until the spirits knocked their teeth out!). We saw several complete caribou skeletons on the way up the pass, including one with pelt still on its head and bones. There were several crevasses that we had to avoid while climbing and descending, it would be most treacherous to climb if these were disguised by ice and snow.
On the way down we were attacked by flies, we fled off in all directions, I had to cross a small swamp by jumping on the stable rocks, the insects were in clouds, finally made it through and we all met at an Inuit graveyard, Christian crosses but all handwritten names in Inuktitut, we paid our respects and returned to the boats needed to cross the channel and return home.
Day 5- Sunday
Day 5 Sunday
Today we hear over the CB that heavy rain is coming and we need to return back if we don’t want to be stuck on this part of the Hudson for a long time. We pack camp very early (start at 5am) and we are ready to leave with all meats dressed and packed for travel by 730. We check the nets and get some more fish for the cooler on the way back, there are 3 nets to check, J* works very hard in the cold morning water, he is quiet and a hard worker and has a gentle way about him and he is the best hunter on the team. We begin the trip back, this is very difficult, waters are very rough and crash on every wave, soon backs and bones hurt and this continues for several hours. We stop at grandparents’ for a break, this is a welcome respite and we are grateful for the tea and bannick. They accompany us with young I* who is 10 and shows me his new rifle, a .22, very impressive). We relax for a bit before heading off again for the next leg of the return journey, this is a long trip, and I am shown and taught Inuktitut words for the geography on the way back. Seeing the houses of the Inukjuaq community was wonderful, we return before 3pm, then we unload for about an hour. I return back to my Inuit family, utterly exhausted, looking in the mirror I have grown a scraggly beard and am sunburned, but feel that sense of happy deep exhaustedness that means when you lie down you breath a big sigh of contentment…I must say that a shower was very welcome,I take a long rest, download some pictures, and after a few hours walk up the hill to the satellite dishes where I can jump on an internet connection, I spend a few hours up on the hill hood up against the wind checking my email, this has been a wonderful week. I will begin my survey data collection next week and take some time here in town before possibly heading out on the land again.
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Day 4- Saturday
Day 4 Saturday
This morning the mosquitoes are so bad I don’t want to leave the tent. I am told that an amaruq (wolf) was spotted over the ridge at sunrise. There are fresh caribou tracks on the beach. We put on our waterproof and bee-keeping insect gear and head out early, checking nets, and this day is spent cruising the coastline looking for caribou and fishing. The nets are full today with many iqaluqpiq and codfish. We do not see caribou but not from lack of trying, we cruise for miles along the beautiful coast, scanning for antlers and signs. We have language class in the boat today and I learn a lot of vocabulary. We catch some fish, one char gets away after being on the hook, to universal dismay. I am taught local geography, we stop at an island for tea, I am shown goose eggs but these are not taken as the geese are already developing inside. I am shown the herbs that are used to make Inuit tea and there is an arctic spider, very big and I take a picture, they are not sure if it is poisonous. We drink tea, it is bitter but good, we head back on the water, find a mussel bed and harvest some of them, there is target practice but no real shooting, they cannot find the tuktu this time! My guides are berated for not shooting that buck when they saw it…everyone laughs good naturedly but there is some seriousness in it too, the chance was there and they should have taken it they say. We return to camp and we have many, many fish today, nets are again full, we have about 6 big char and many more codfish just from the second checking, the 5 geese left, the one duck and we are in good shape. Everyone wants to try the fire-cooked way, this time we make a really big fire, it is indeed a lovely bonfire, we stand around as the northern lights come out again, there are shooting stars, as the fire dies down we wrap 7 fish and 7 potatoes in foil, we have 3 big char and 5 codfish, the fire is so big that there are plenty of embers, I let them cook slowly for about an hour, the smells are delicious, when they are unwrapped it is like ‘presents’ everyone laughs, we eat with our hands right on the rocks, we gorge ourselves, the steaming char cooked in its own juices on the fire in the cold air was very very nice. Grace was said over the food but it is eaten not with quiet reverence but with lip smacking finger-licking appreciation, the pleasure taken in food here is almost sexual, the animals killed with your own hands and eaten in the same way, there is no distance between you and your food, you take it from start to finish and I think that the Inuit appreciate their food very intensely. We sleep deeply and everyone is completely full for the first time.
