Where can I find matlab program that generates AM signals?
What wer the cave paintings of altamira?
1650s Puritan attitudes towards sex, adultery and gender roles
I'm trying to find research on back-alley abortions.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
New Jersey Transit is Unreasonable on the Newark Light Rail
New Jersey Transit has a very primitive way of collecting fares on the Newark Light Rail. You must purchase a ticket and stamp it. At times, fare inspectors are on duty to check tickets. I had a discussion with a student yesterday who was given a summons for $71 because she forgot to stamp the ticket. Couldn't those turkeys given her the benefit of the doubt and just given her a warning? The fare from Newark Penn Station to NJIT is 65 cents except from 4 - 6 PM when it is $1.35. Yesterday I observed two students being issued summons since they had the wrong ticket. Can't they just pay the difference? This primitive method of fare collection just preserves antiquated jobs. I read the New Jersey Transit loses $200,000/year from passengers who don't pay the fair and are not caught. With all the technology available today, can't they devise a modern method of fare collection? If you don't pay, you just can't get on the train.
Friday, November 7, 2008
METRO Science Librarians SIG Meeting today
Location - Baruch College, William and Anita Newman Library, 4th Floor Conference Room, 151 East 25th Street, New York, NY
Topic - Updates on Digital Projects in Science Libraries
Scheduled Speakers:
Ron Jantz - Rutgers University - An Institutional and Architectural Framework for Creating and Preserving Authentic Digital Objects
Mike Luby - National Science Digital Library - Updates to the NSDL
Topic - Updates on Digital Projects in Science Libraries
Scheduled Speakers:
Ron Jantz - Rutgers University - An Institutional and Architectural Framework for Creating and Preserving Authentic Digital Objects
Mike Luby - National Science Digital Library - Updates to the NSDL
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Reference Questions of the evening
1. A student was looking for information on the importance of the family. One of the problems was finding articles in psychology journals that were too technical for him. I showed him Academic Search Premier and Lexis-Nexis. We found better articles using the terms family values and family relations.
2. A second student needed information on green offices. i strated him off in Scopus where we found some relevant information. Some good articles were in conference proceedings not available to us. I showed him Academic Search Premier and the Avery Architecture database. When I did a book search I found him this perfect source:
Title:
Green office buildings : a practical guide to development /
Primary material:
Book
Publisher:
Washington, D.C. : ULI, c2005.
Persistent URL for this Item:
http://librarius.njit.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=130246
ISBN:
0874209374
Google Book Search:
More Information About This Book
Location:
Arch Desk
Call Number:
NA6230 .G74 2005
Num items:
1
2. A second student needed information on green offices. i strated him off in Scopus where we found some relevant information. Some good articles were in conference proceedings not available to us. I showed him Academic Search Premier and the Avery Architecture database. When I did a book search I found him this perfect source:
Title:
Green office buildings : a practical guide to development /
Primary material:
Book
Publisher:
Washington, D.C. : ULI, c2005.
Persistent URL for this Item:
http://librarius.njit.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=130246
ISBN:
0874209374
Google Book Search:
More Information About This Book
Location:
Arch Desk
Call Number:
NA6230 .G74 2005
Num items:
1
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
September 14, 1992 -
Today I was honored for 15+ years of service at an Awards Ceremony in the Campus Center Ballroom. Where did all these years go? There are good days, bad days, interesting days, and boring days as well. You have to be happy to have a job these days.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Fundamentals of Engineering Design for Civil Engineering Freshman
I was asked to give a class for freshman civil engineering majors taking the Fundamentals of Engineering Design class. Most of these students had already been taken the library lectures given to Humanities 101 students. I talked about the structure of the technical literature and how state of the art information originally presented at conferences or published in research journals eventually is discussed in college textbooks. Students should begin their research using books and then do a database search for more recent research developments. The instructor asked me to demonsrate how to find information on earthquake resistant buildings. I found that there were several books written on this topic which should be consulted first. I then did the search in Scopus and showed how displaying by relevance was helpful. When I speak to freshmen, I always say the information seeking skills are developed over time.
Monday, November 3, 2008
A Challenge for Library Instruction
The opinions expressed in this entry are of Bruce Slutsky and not anyone else at NJIT. If anyone would like to discuss it with me, please see me in person. There are certain types of communication not appropriate for e-mail.
Teachers can not force students to like a subject. This includes chemistry, physics, history, literature, or library science. In recent years, librarians have pushed for information literacy in the curriculum. Most university administrators have been receptive to this initiative. It is simply defined as the ability to both search and access information, not only through traditional means, but also through the use of information and communication technologies. Librarians do play an important role in the information literacy process, but some of it belongs with the teaching faculty.
There is anecdotal evidence that students frown on library lectures. I remember back in junior high school we had one period a week when the librarian showed us how to search the card catalog and Readers Guide. I received no other formal training until I changed careers and went to library school. There is a technique to make students at least receptive to the class. I think that is to show that what they are learning now will be relevant to them in the future. The worst thing we can do is to teach library science to them. They will be bored to death and possibly even hostile. They need to learn enough to integrate information resources to their academic and personal lives.
This semester, I have taught some students in Humanities 101, the writing course given to freshmen. I start out by asking them to put their names in Google and see if they can find themselves or someone else with their name on the Internet. I use this as an ice breaker to show them that online searching can be fun. The aim of a second class is to evaluate the validity of web sites. I start out by asking them to Google their favorite entertainer and see if they think the retrieved web sites provide valid information.
Most of my experience has been in teaching students to find information in chemistry and related fields. I start out by saying that as they advance in their academic careers, their needs for information becomes more difficult. They will no longer have readings assigned to them by their professors. They must use online and print resources to find information they need. I always say that before they do their dissertation research, they must search to see that nobody else has done the same research. They will all eventually work in industry where they must be aware of what their competitors are doing.
It is always frustrating to see inattentive students in class. You can often see them doing homework, whispering among themselves, and playing with their cell phones. We really need to show the students that what we are teaching them is relevant now and in the future.
Teachers can not force students to like a subject. This includes chemistry, physics, history, literature, or library science. In recent years, librarians have pushed for information literacy in the curriculum. Most university administrators have been receptive to this initiative. It is simply defined as the ability to both search and access information, not only through traditional means, but also through the use of information and communication technologies. Librarians do play an important role in the information literacy process, but some of it belongs with the teaching faculty.
There is anecdotal evidence that students frown on library lectures. I remember back in junior high school we had one period a week when the librarian showed us how to search the card catalog and Readers Guide. I received no other formal training until I changed careers and went to library school. There is a technique to make students at least receptive to the class. I think that is to show that what they are learning now will be relevant to them in the future. The worst thing we can do is to teach library science to them. They will be bored to death and possibly even hostile. They need to learn enough to integrate information resources to their academic and personal lives.
This semester, I have taught some students in Humanities 101, the writing course given to freshmen. I start out by asking them to put their names in Google and see if they can find themselves or someone else with their name on the Internet. I use this as an ice breaker to show them that online searching can be fun. The aim of a second class is to evaluate the validity of web sites. I start out by asking them to Google their favorite entertainer and see if they think the retrieved web sites provide valid information.
Most of my experience has been in teaching students to find information in chemistry and related fields. I start out by saying that as they advance in their academic careers, their needs for information becomes more difficult. They will no longer have readings assigned to them by their professors. They must use online and print resources to find information they need. I always say that before they do their dissertation research, they must search to see that nobody else has done the same research. They will all eventually work in industry where they must be aware of what their competitors are doing.
It is always frustrating to see inattentive students in class. You can often see them doing homework, whispering among themselves, and playing with their cell phones. We really need to show the students that what we are teaching them is relevant now and in the future.
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