Month: December 2018

🔖 Journalism, Online Comments, and the Future of Public Discourse by Marie K. Shanahan | Routledge

Bookmarked Journalism, Online Comments, and the Future of Public Discourse by Marie K. ShanahanMarie K. Shanahan (Routledge)

Comments on digital news stories and on social media play an increasingly important role in public discourse as more citizens communicate through online networks. The reasons for eliminating comments on news stories are plentiful. Off-topic posts and toxic commentary have been shown to undermine legitimate news reporting. Yet the proliferation of digital communication technology has revolutionized the setting for democratic participation. The digital exchange of ideas and opinions is now a vital component of the democratic landscape. Marie K. Shanahan's book argues that public digital discourse is crucial component of modern democracy―one that journalists must stop treating with indifference or detachment―and for news organizations to use journalistic rigor and better design to add value to citizens’ comments above the social layer. Through original interviews, anecdotes, field observations and summaries of research literature, Shanahan explains the obstacles of digital discourse as well as its promises for journalists in the digital age.

book cover of Journalism, Online Comments, and the Future of Public Discourse

hat tip: Newsrooms take the comments sections back from platforms

📺 "The Great British Baking Show" Cake Week | Netflix

Watched "The Great British Baking Show" Cake Week from Netflix
With Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith. The 11 remaining bakers face a tough test in Cake Week, including a crowd-pleasing signature challenge, Prue's first technical challenge, and a chocolate collared showstopper.

📺 "Wallander" Sidetracked | Netflix

Watched "Wallander" Sidetracked from Netflix
Directed by Philip Martin. With Kenneth Branagh, Sarah Smart, Sadie Shimmin, Tom Beard. Kurt Wallander is a police inspector in the Swedish town of Ystad. Shortly after he has seen a young girl kill herself by self-immolation, he is called to investigate the murder of government minister Wetterstedt. He has been scalped. Wealthy business-man Carlman is murdered in the same fashion, and a serial killer is clearly responsible. Drunken ex-journalist Lars Magnusson points Wallander ...
Not quite as BBC or even as Swedish as I might have expected. I could do an additional episode or two, but still unsure about this as a series.

👓 Planning as an act of hope | Robert Talbert

Read Planning as an act of hope by Robert Talbert (Robert Talbert, Ph.D.)
How do you approach planning short- and long-term goals, when you have no idea what the next 120 days will be like, or even if you'll be around at the end of it?
Sometimes flipping your life as well as your classroom can yield some excellent results. Robert has some excellent reflections here.

👓 Your Vagina Is Terrific (and Everyone Else’s Opinions Still Are Not) | New York Times

Read Your Vagina Is Terrific (and Everyone Else’s Opinions Still Are Not) (New York Times)
One year ago I wrote about my vagina and men’s opinions of it. Things have not improved.

👓 How different types of knowledge impact the growth of new firms | MIT News

Read How different types of knowledge impact the growth of new firms (MIT News)
Study explores the micromechanisms underlying regional economic diversification.

📺 "The Great British Baking Show" Bread Week | Netflix

Watched "The Great British Baking Show" Bread Week from Netflix
With Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith. It's Bread Week, and the ten remaining bakers have a lot to prove with three tough challenges set by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. There is a teatime fruity favourite Signature; a deceptively simple time-test of a Technical with an international flavour; and an ambitious Showstopper that's the largest bread sculpture challenge ever set in the tent. Only one can claim Star Baker, while one...

👓 Kardashian Index | The Informational Turn

Read Kardashian Index Calculator (The Informational Turn)

The Kardashian Index is a measure of the discrepancy between an academic's social media profile and publication record based on the direct comparison of numbers of citations and Twitter followers.

The Kardashian Index (K-index) can be calculated as follows:

K - index = F(a) / F(c)

F(a) is the actual number of Twitter followers of academic X. F(c) is the number academic X should have given their citations C; given a trend identified in the original paper, it is calculated as:

F = 43.3C0.32

The author of the index says that "a high K-index is a warning to the community that researcher X may have built their public profile on shaky foundations, while a very low K-index suggests that a scientist is being undervalued. ... those people whose K-index is greater than 5 can be considered 'Science Kardashians'.

📺 "The Great British Baking Show" Dessert Week | Netflix

Watched "The Great British Baking Show" Dessert Week from Netflix
With Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith. The bakers must create a cracking meringue Signature, a wobbly Technical, and a complex chocolate Showstopper that promises to reveal all.

📺 "The Great British Baking Show" Spice Week | Netflix

Watched "The Great British Baking Show" Spice Week from Netflix
With Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith. Paul and Prue set the bakers a classic teatime Signature. There's also an Arabian Technical and a fiddly Showstopper.

👓 The Racist Politics of the English Language | Boston Review

Read The Racist Politics of the English Language (Boston Review)
How we went from “racist” to “racially tinged.”
Yes, we need to be more careful with our words and move back to more specific language.

👓 The Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Actions and Filters | Code Envato Tuts+

Read The Beginner's Guide to WordPress Actions and Filters (Code Envato Tuts+)
When it comes to professional WordPress development, it's imperative that developers understand both actions and filters - that is, it's important to understand WordPress hooks. Simply put, hooks...
A clean and simple tutorial…