We live in a time that supports constant stimulation through internet and media connectivity.   Whether our drive to avoid boredom has a biological basis or not, it begs a practical question about the consequences of so many people choosing the hyper-stimulated path. A recent Newsweek article cites the concern expressed by clinical psychologist Adam J. Cox published in The New Atlantis about the consequences for teenage boys in particular.

“Cox worries about the deficits in the communication abilities of young males for whom a ‘womb of all-encompassing stimulation’ induces ‘a pleasant trance from which they do not care to be awakened.’”

Cox wonders about the effect on the social development of such individuals who he hypothesizes may find face to face interactions less accessible after a steady diet of full-on electronic media. I think it’s a question worth bringing up with parents as they consider how they negotiate with their children over the infinite options for digital entertainment.

Here’s a link to the full article on Newsweek. What do you think?

One resource you might find helpful in considering a how to answer this for yourself is the Center on Media and Child Health. They seem to have a measured view on both the positive and negative potential of new media.

This has been a public service announcement. We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast…

Tim Siftar

ps – Lots of other related articles in the press currently such as this and this from the NYTimes, along with the provocatively titled “Is Google Making us Stupid?”

Here are a few links to library tutorials to help you with the questions from this assignment:

Evaluating Websites:
http://www.library.drexel.edu/resources/tutorials/webeval/intro.html

Research Articles on a topic:
The best place to start is with the Research Guides by Subject, which will give you the best library resources for researching a variety of topics:
http://www.library.drexel.edu/resources/guides/subjectguides.html

There’s also the “Freshman Writers Toolbox” at that main tutorials address that is good:
http://www.library.drexel.edu/resources/tutorials/tutorials.html

Citing references
http://www.library.drexel.edu/resources/tutorials/citations.html

Please call or email if you have further questions!

Best,

Tim

Every Drexel student is aware of our university’s long tradition when it comes to encouraging its students to become early adopters of new technology. For example, Drexel was the first university to require freshman to have their own personal computers in 1983. We were on the forefront of offering students email, wiring the campus with internet. Then we were the first to make wireless internet available campus-wide in 2000. During these great leaps forward, Drexel Libraries has kept pace. We dumped the card catalog for an online version, were among the first to move from a print to electronic journal collection and have supplied loaner laptop and email reference services for years. (Email us at qmlib@drexel.edu)

(more…)

Here’s one everyone can use. We all use Google anyway…

The folks at Usabilityviews.com have done a nice single access point for all of the specialty Google searches from one page. Being part of the generation trained by “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWIG) interfaces, sometimes I just plain forget all the options Google makes available from its understated “Advanced” link.

Usability professionals are renowned for their helpful ways at recreating interfaces and menu options in general. So now they bring us:

Simply Google http://www.usabilityviews.com/simply_google.htm

Their description:
“Simply Google is a page with search boxes that are linked to various Google search engines, for faster results. You can search for maps, news, books, bargains, scholarly articles, music, video, blogs, catalogs, computers, and much more by using the appropriate search box. What will they think of next? Well, if Google could invent a search engine that my wife could use when she misplaces her car keys, I’d be eternally grateful.”

Thanks www.usabilityviews.com !

Okay – so this recent Washington Post article by Jay Matthews has a catchy title. What are the sources for these gems? As it turns out the author cites a scholarly work: “College Student Retention: Formula for Student Success,” edited by Alan Seidman and published by the American Council on Education and Praeger. In particular he extracts a few key points from the piece by Alexander W. Astin and Leticia Oseguera of UCLA entitled “Pre-College and Institutional Influences on Degree Attainment,” on page 245. The work is based on extensive surveying at UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute which produces an annual survey of about 400,000 college freshmen across the country. The Post author presents their most intriguing findings as a list: Five Weird Ways to College Success. Excerpts of Mathews list follow… with a few of my own comments in square brackets. [ ]

(more…)

This blog is intended for readers from the Goodwin College of Professional Studies at Drexel University, who are primarily part-time, evening or weekend students.

(more…)