tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73494899708836933882024-03-05T11:09:09.432-08:00White and NerdyBethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-39671378520813653162014-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:002014-05-19T14:04:50.452-07:00THHGTTG and Stream of ConsciousnessI was listening to a podcast, <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/science-talk/">Science Talk</a> (Scientific American) and there was an interview with author David J. Hand on his book <em><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles and Rare Events Happen Every Day</span></em><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/22px Prelude, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span> and he started off on probabilities of a coin flip.<br />
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Science Talk: <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/sometimes-the-hoofprints-are-from-zebras/">Sometimes the Hoofprints Are from Zebras</a></div>
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It reminded me of math classes from high school where we had to calculate that exact thing. <br />
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Which is the most likely outcome of a coin flip 5 times in a row?<br />
a. HHHHH<br />
b. TTTTT<br />
c. HTHTH<br />
d.HHHHT <br />
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and on and on. The correct answer is all of them. <br />
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1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 *1/2 for each answer you will have a 1/32 chance of that result. <br />
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The outcomes made me think of the abbreviation to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: THHGTTG. So close! What are the chances of a coin flip landing in that order 8 times? The G's will represent the coin landing on its side. <br />
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According to Daniel B. Murray and Scott W. Teare of Harvard, the odds of that happening are 1 in 6000. <a href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993PhRvE..48.2547M">Source</a><br />
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<br />Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-56911764369126890362014-05-15T08:59:00.001-07:002014-05-15T09:00:28.986-07:00Just a Myth<div style="text-align: left;">
I listen to a lot of comedy and science podcasts and sometimes I get a crossover of the two: <a href="http://www.nerdist.com/category/podcast/">Nerdist</a>,</div>
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<a href="http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/you-made-it-weird-206-brian-greene-theoretical-physicist/">You Made it Weird</a>, <a href="http://www.startalkradio.net/">StarTalk Radio</a>.</div>
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You Made it Weird, I love it. The comedian host talks to people for as long as they want to talk. He has some questions he asks everyone, their view of God, what happens when you die and when was the last time you laughed really hard and why. This time he talked to one of my top physicists, the order changes but:</div>
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<a href="http://mkaku.org/">Michio Kaku</a>: always #1, his book Beyond Einstein made me love physics </div>
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<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy.html">Phil Plait</a>: the Bad Astronomer, I read his blog in the mid 90s</div>
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<a href="http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/">Neil deGrasse Tyson</a><span id="goog_970935036"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_970935037"></span>: one sexy mofo, could sell you science and make you grateful to pay</div>
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<a href="http://www.briangreene.org/">Brian Greene</a>: The Elegant Universe, loved it so much</div>
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<a href="http://cosmos.asu.edu/">Paul Davies</a>: About Time - how fast does time flow? one second per second.</div>
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<a href="http://www.daviddeutsch.org.uk/">David Deutch</a>: The Quest for the Quantum Computer. Amazing.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mikebrownsplanets.com/">Mike Brown</a>: killed Pluto</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Luu">Jane Luu</a>: discovered the Kuiper Belt!</div>
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<a href="http://www.seti.org/users/jill-tarter">Jill Tarter</a>: SETI all the way</div>
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... there's a lot -I keep adding to this list.</div>
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<a href="http://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/you-made-it-weird-206-brian-greene-theoretical-physicist/">You Made it Weird #206: Brian Greene: Theoretical Physicist</a></div>
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Ok so Pete Holmes is talking to Brian Greene and he says something that makes me incredibly sad. In 1998 it was discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating and one day there won't be any stars. They will be just a myth and beyond that no one will ever know they existed. I know on the evolutionary timescale that's still far away but these things that we gain so much understanding of the universe from will be completely unknown, they will be gone. </div>
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Crab Nebula a supernova remnant that was recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054ace.</div>
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Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-66076874593412146622014-05-14T08:04:00.000-07:002014-05-14T08:04:04.863-07:00The hard working alligator<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4876404/The%20Swamp%20House/index.html">The Swamp House</a>: more pics of the process and final project by John Henry</div>
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I am in love with automatons. I want to know how they work so I can make my own weird creations. I have books and kits and papercraft kits so it's going to happen. Soon....</div>
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Watching this one is kind of hypnotic so I started to wonder how much this alligator was making based on the apparent speed of the gif. It makes ~$.125/second or ~$450 an hour. Normally you are supposed to take an average of multiple measurements but I don't think the gif will speed up at all. </div>
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@10 seconds I counted 5 quarters or $1.25/10seconds = ~$.125/second</div>
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$.125/1 sec * 60 sec/ 1 min * 60 min/1 hour =~$450/hour. </div>
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Not bad.</div>
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Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-74750955521575077202014-01-22T07:51:00.000-08:002014-01-22T07:52:27.460-08:00Technical Communication<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 13px/20px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
One of the main issues when speaking to users/customers/students/staff/etc. is a mismatch in communication styles, goals and levels of technical knowledge. They would like their problems solved in a way that does not affect their dignity when asking for help on things they might not understand. We, however, would like to resolve their issue and submit a ticket. This is where we experience a conflict.</div>
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Speakers: Campus Help Desk</div>
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Communication Style: Goals and Outcomes Oriented/Direct</div>
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Level of Technical Knowledge/Awareness: Highly Skilled</div>
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Goal: Answer Questions, Troubleshoot Problems, Submit Tickets</div>
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Audience: Callers into the Help Desk</div>
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Communication Style: Varied</div>
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Goal: Solve Problems, Submit Tickets, Ask Questions</div>
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Level of Technical Knowledge/Awareness: Varied</div>
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Ideally we would like to offer some amount of technical instruction as we troubleshoot so that they might be able to understand the problem if it happens again. They might see our methods of this instruction as a negative reflection of their intelligence. So how do we bridge this gap? </div>
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<a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_Accommodation_Theory" style="color: #396eb2; margin-bottom: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Communication accommodation theory</strong> (<strong style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px;">CAT</strong>)</span><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is a theory of communication developed by Howard Giles. It argues that “when people interact they adjust their speech, their vocal patterns and their gestures, to accommodate to others.</div>
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When two speakers have a common goal -they<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px;">like</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>each other, both parties will adjust their communication styles towards each other. Each will use the others' vernacular (IT Support Person vs. LAN Manager). When their goals are opposite it diverges (correcting each other, interrupting).</div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-61148735738433471552014-01-14T07:55:00.000-08:002014-01-14T07:55:07.988-08:00Phishing: Why Are Some People More Affected? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is from a really good ad campaign on security awareness from Southern Methodist University.</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Phishing </strong></span></div>
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Scamming method used to elicit information from uninformed computer users through impersonation of trusted sources; respelling of fishing used to evade scans and filters by mainstream servers policing the internet.</div>
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Email messages will contain: </div>
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1.Threats</div>
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2.Company Logo or Name</div>
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3.Links</div>
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4.+/- misspelled words and typos</div>
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Why do<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="font-style: italic;">some</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>people seem to fall for phishing?</div>
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Are users:</div>
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On autopilot? Not engaged or passive in their online activities? Cowed by perceived authority? Lacking critical thinking abilities? Other? </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This is an example we get sent to the Campus Help Desk about once a month: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And according to Educause we are the #2 most phished industry:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Early in 2013 the Syrian Electronic Army successfully phished several news media Twitter accounts. One of them was the Onion (which took some time to discover because their tweets are already strange).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Onion was the only hacked account that later released information on exactly<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="font-style: italic;">how</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>it happened. Their staff were sent this email multiple times over the course of a week. Eventually a staff member clicked the link and entered the requested information (if a user clicks the link they are most likely going to continue on entering what is asked if given no warning from their browser or mail client).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Emotional Triggers Exploited by Phishing</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are certain personality types that are the most susceptible to phishing. </span></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;">Greed</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Fear</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Heroism</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Desire to be Liked</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Authority</li>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Greed:</strong></span></div>
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Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 09:30:13</div>
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From: chika_williams@tiscali.co.uk<br />
To: gullible@yahoo.com<br />
Subject: URGENT<br />
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RE: URGENT REQUEST FOR YOUR UNALLOYED CO-OPERATION TO TRANSFER (US$20.4 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS ONLY) INTO YOUR PRIVATE OR COMPANY’S ACCOUNT</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Fear/Authority:</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Heroism/Desire to be Liked</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Victim Personality Traits:</span></div>
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There are certain victim personality traits when combined with a cognitive bias that can result in a user who will fall for phishing attacks. Remember that each of these traits are completely normal in small amounts.</div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Neuroticism</strong>: causes people to be more upset when being lied to and prefer to believe people are more truthful.</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Impulsivity</strong>: read, decide and click as fast as possible.</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Introversion</strong>: prefer online communication.</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Cognitive Bias:</span></div>
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We are bad at detecting deception in others but good at detecting honesty.<br />
We tend to overestimate our abilities and underestimate risk.<br />
We believe what we want to believe (cognitive dissonance).<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Research Study #1: Unnamed University</span></div>
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An 8 week study was done on 446 undergrads in an Intro to Information Systems course. They were given a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="font-weight: bold;">Super Secret Code (SSC)</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and told to never give it out to anyone. The SSC was printed on official university letterhead with the title disclaimer “Do Not Disclose This Code.” It was used to access grades, quizzes, professor/ta email info communicating that the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">SSC is important and private</span>. Giving it out would affect grades and violate the student conduct code. A nondisclosure agreement was signed.</div>
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For the 8 Weeks of the class they were instructed on internet security,phishing, hacking, etc., all lectures began with reminder displayed on PowerPoint:</div>
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‘DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR SSC’.</div>
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Week 6: The unexpected, but not really. A real, unplanned phishing attack occurred with IT warning students. It was written up in the student paper.</div>
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Week 8 they were emailed the following message. Notice that there is no link or logo present.</div>
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From: Jason Roth Database Administrator</div>
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This e‑mail is to inform you of a problem we are having with the information technology database. Due to a data collision we have lost some information and are unable to recover it. In order to get the database back up and working we need you to forward us your “super-secure code.” Please respond to this e‑mail with your code. Sorry for the inconvenience.</div>
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Out of 299 [final] participants*:</div>
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•57% ignored (170)</div>
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•32% replied with SSC (97)</div>
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•9% alerted IT (26)</div>
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•1% responded with a question/comment (4)</div>
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•<1% responded with incorrect info (2)</div>
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*147 students were excluded because they dropped class, didn’t receive the email/couldn’t find it, didn’t take the post instruction test, didn’t complete all items on final survey.</div>
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What were the responses?</div>
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<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 25px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;">here is my SSC xxxxxx. I hope that the database will get fixed very soon. Best of luck to you on fixing the database.</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"> My Network ID is xxxxx, My Student Number is xxxxx, my super secure Code is xxxxx, my home number is xxxxx.</li>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;">I think this is my code: xxxx, but I’m not sure. you can call my mom at xxx- xxxx if this isn’t it as she will have it for you.</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"> I was told to never give out my super secrete (sic) code. . . . So how do I know this isn’t a scam?</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"> I’m sorry to hear about your problems, but I will not be able to assist you.</li>
</ul>
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What happened?!</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Research Study #2: West Point 2004</span></div>
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A random sampling of 512 cadets were phished. West Point is unique in that the students have an average SAT score in the top 25%. The school was the first to be certified by the Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (NSA), have a Security Emergency Response Team and security awareness training at the beginning of each semester. </div>
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(note: the article mainly focused on the intelligence of the cadets and the issues that would arise from betraying their trust with this study)</div>
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There was no discussion on ongoing IT security training. The following email was sent to the cadets with a link, replying email address and physical location of the sender. When the link was clicked on it returned a 404 error so there is no data on how many entered in their personal information.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2g61D8ATnSXtETdcAf5e7k18isb88mpugfd5V6L6GpFEn3qT_lUksfOVGUqP4GF0uPd1cznRFV6OaszsgE3SVrhv-OQ4f_GQfsQo86GyWB8ItHu2_Wgi6FFB4ScsjXwjQNSJKZpwwkik/s1600/westpoint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2g61D8ATnSXtETdcAf5e7k18isb88mpugfd5V6L6GpFEn3qT_lUksfOVGUqP4GF0uPd1cznRFV6OaszsgE3SVrhv-OQ4f_GQfsQo86GyWB8ItHu2_Wgi6FFB4ScsjXwjQNSJKZpwwkik/s1600/westpoint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The name is not found in the global address book, Washington Hall does not have a 7th floor and the building is used by all cadets on a regular basis. This is all information that is easily independently verified.</div>
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Out of 512 cadets, 80% clicked the link (~400). And their reasons: </div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;">‘The email looked suspicious but it was from an Army colonel so I figured it must be legitimate.’ </li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">‘Any e-mail that contains the word ‘grade’ in it gets my immediate attention and action!’</li>
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What happened?!</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Data Analysis</span></div>
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<strong style="font-weight: bold;">Experience Factors:</strong></div>
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•Lack of Computer self confidence</div>
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•Lack of Web experience</div>
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•Lack of Security policy knowledge</div>
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<strong style="font-weight: bold;">Personality Factors</strong></div>
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•Victim personality traits (neurotic, impulsive, introverted)</div>
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<em style="font-style: italic;">Phishing and Social Engineering works better on naive and vulnerable users. </em></div>
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What Made the Difference?</div>
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<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 25px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Reinforced and Ongoing Training</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Security Awareness</li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Communication from IT on Actual Phishing Attacks</li>
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Back to the original questions.Are users:</div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;">On autopilot?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="font-weight: bold;">no</strong></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Not engaged or passive in their online activities?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="font-weight: bold;">no</strong></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Cowed by perceived authority?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="font-weight: bold;">A bit</strong></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Lacking critical thinking abilities?<strong style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>No</strong></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;">Other?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="font-weight: bold;">yes :</strong><em style="font-style: italic;">Of the personality type that phishing exploits?<strong style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>yes!</strong></em></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;">They are engaging in these emails critically but do not have the experience, security knowledge and confidence to correctly asses the threat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong style="font-weight: bold;">IT Managers</strong></span></div>
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Be aware of potential victim users:</div>
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•Oversharing on Facebook (content and quality)</div>
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•New to the web</div>
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•Victim Personality Traits</div>
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Talk about it (think of a personal story that relates): my mom once told me she replies to spam asking them to take her off their mailing list. Yes I told her to stop doing that and why.</div>
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Sources</div>
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<a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://sfxhosted.exlibrisgroup.com/uutah?frbrVersion=4&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2013-06-05T10:21:09IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-mes&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The%20Influence%20of%20Experiential%20and%20Dispositional%20Factors%20in%20Phishing:%20An%20Empirical%20Investigation%20of%20the%20Deceived&rft.jtitle=Journal%20of%20Management%20Information%20Systems&rft.btitle=&rft.aulast=Wright&rft.auinit=&rft.auinit1=&rft.auinitm=&rft.ausuffix=&rft.au=Wright,%20Ryan%20T.&rft.aucorp=&rft.date=20100701&rft.volume=27&rft.issue=1&rft.part=&rft.quarter=&rft.ssn=&rft.spage=273&rft.epage=303&rft.pages=&rft.artnum=&rft.issn=0742-1222&rft.eissn=&rft.isbn=&rft.sici=&rft.coden=&rft_id=info:doi/10.2753/MIS0742-1222270111&rft.object_id=&svc_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:sch_svc&svc.fulltext=yes&rft.eisbn=&rft_dat=%3cmes%3eG2796043251W2044%3c/mes%3e&rft_id=info:oai/" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Influence of Experiential and Dispositional Factors in Phishing: An Empirical Investigation of the Deceived<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a></div>
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Journal of management information systems [0742-1222] Wright, Ryan yr:2010 vol:27 iss:1 pg:273 -303</div>
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<a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=4258689" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">An Investigation of Heuristics of Human Judgment in Detecting Deception and Potential Implications in Countering Social Engineering<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a></div>
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2007 IEEE Intelligence and Security Informatics Tiantian Qi, Tiantian yr:2007 pg:152 -159</div>
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<a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://www.educause.edu/node/634" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fostering E-Mail Security Awareness: The West Point<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a><a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://www.educause.edu/node/634" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Carronade<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
EDUCAUSE quarterly [1528-5324] Ferguson, Aaron yr:2005 vol:28 iss:1 pg:54 -57</div>
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</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
<a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2063176.2063197" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The State of Phishing Attacks<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
Communications of the ACM [0001-0782] Hong, Jason yr:2012 vol:55 iss:1 pg:74 -81</div>
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</div>
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<a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1301.7643" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Phishing, Personality Traits and Facebook<span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a></div>
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Halevi, Tzipora yr:2013</div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10px;">
Paul Ekman; c1985 New York : Norton</div>
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</div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-31149410438424001912014-01-06T08:16:00.001-08:002014-01-06T08:16:54.870-08:00The Most Human Human<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 13px/20px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">More and more often I've been contacting users to inform them that they have an infected machine and to clean it or they will be disabled from our network. It is almost impossible to send this information in an email that does not sound like a scam so I have to get creative. Lately I've had some success and offer it to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">You will need to pass the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span><span>Turing Test</span></span><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There is one method that seems to get a response:</span></div>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 13px/20px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 25px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">The subject of the message needs to be specific to the University</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Introduction and purpose of message.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Identifying information: mac address, unid, ticket number.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">What they need to do now: virus scan, refer to a repair service.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">What will happen if the computer isn't cleaned</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Contact information (the most important part)</span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 13px/20px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 25px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 25px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Give no phone numbers or links for more information</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tell them to contact the Campus Help Desk for more information.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ask the user to find a contact number from the main Utah website. </span></li>
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Add your name and title (no phone number).</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In the interest of fighting phishing attacks you really want to avoid all of the features listed in previous modules: logos, links, threats. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 13px/20px "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">For more information:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8884400-the-most-human-human?from_search=true" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span><span>The Most Human Human</span></span><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a> or <a aria-label="Links to an external site." class="external" href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/03/mind-vs-machine/308386/" style="color: #0088cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span><span><span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; line-height: 40px;">Mind vs. Machine</span></span></span><span class="ui-icon ui-icon-extlink ui-icon-inline" style="background-image: url("https://utah.instructure.com/images/jqueryui/ui-icons_222222_256x240.png?1349200592"); background-position: -32px -80px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 16px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-indent: -99999px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;" title="Links to an external site."></span></a></span></div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-42837464870938347752013-10-31T09:25:00.001-07:002013-10-31T09:25:07.795-07:00Are We Alone?
<br />
<em>Philosophy 1050 (?) 1994</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>This was written in my first semester of college and after re-reading it's actually not the worst freshman writing I've read. It's not great though and I wouldn't pick this topic today with a gun to my head and yet I'm proud of my incredibly skeptical conclusions. Also, the X Files, wow I remember obsessing over that show and man can you tell! The assignment was an end of term paper on something typically contentious of a topic, abortion, capital punishment, etc. Because I was a gigantic dork I picked alien abductions because why the hell not? I still pick weird topics in my writing these days...</em><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<o:p> Are We Alone?</o:p></div>
<br />
"I send greetings on behalf of the people of our planet. We step out of
our solar system, into the universe seeking only peaceful contact." In
1977, Kurt Waldheim, past president of the United Nations sent this message out
into space. It was sent in 55 languages on the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, and also
on Pioneer <u1:p></u1:p>10 and 1 -each one on its way out of our solar system.
Along with this message <u1:p></u1:p>was sent over a hundred pictures that
would not only show a sort of map to Earth, <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
but also give a tour along the way. Whether or not this message was ever <u1:p></u1:p>received
is still a mystery. There are a lot of people that believe the mystery <u1:p></u1:p>has
been solved. They range from fanatics to tabloid newspapers, to legitimate <u1:p></u1:p>scientists.
They have been dedicated to proving that extra-terrestrials have <u1:p></u1:p>been
visiting the Earth for a while now. Some of these people aren't just crackpots
in the south searching for Elvis in the K-Mart parking lot. There are <u1:p></u1:p>lawyers,
doctors and numerous other professionals. They willingly risk their <u1:p></u1:p>reputation
on these occurrences. But the questions remain. Are there extra-terrestrials
here, hidden by a massive government conspiracy. Or is this just <u1:p></u1:p>another
example of mass hysteria fueled by modern day myth? <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>In 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving home through New
Hampshire. They <u1:p></u1:p>saw a rapidly moving light and stopped to
investigate. When they pulled out <u1:p></u1:p>their binoculars, it
disappeared. A few miles later, the strange light returned <u1:p></u1:p>and
seemed to follow them. It came closer and they saw that it was a circular <u1:p></u1:p>object
with figures moving behind blue tinted windows. Barney got out to get a <u1:p></u1:p>better
look. Suddenly, wings snapped out abruptly on both sides of the craft. <u1:p></u1:p>Barney
ran back to the car, panicked. Driving away, they looked back and it was <u1:p></u1:p>gone.
When they got home, they discovered that they had been gone an extra two <u1:p></u1:p>hours
instead of about ten minutes. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<u1:p></u1:p>Betty began to have strange dreams, filled with haunting images
of abductions <u1:p></u1:p>scenes. She finally went to a hypnotist to find out
what had really happened in <u1:p></u1:p>the missing two hours. The therapist
decided to use hypnotic regression to get <u1:p></u1:p>the truth. When Barney
stopped the car the second time, it had in fact stalled. <u1:p></u1:p>The craft
landed and aliens got out. <u1:p></u1:p>They were separated and subjected to
many biological tests, and what they <u1:p></u1:p>called "sampling."
Before they were returned to their car, they showed Betty a <u1:p></u1:p>three
dimensional map. It was a star map and she was told to study it carefully. <u1:p></u1:p>Under
her hypnotic state Betty was able to reproduce the map. When the aliens <u1:p></u1:p>released
them, Betty was already in the car and Barney found himself running <u1:p></u1:p>back
to the car panicked. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>This could be considered and interesting "story," yet
when the two separated <u1:p></u1:p>accounts were compared, they were
internally consistent on detail. The star map, <u1:p></u1:p>their only tangible
proof of the experience, was given to an amateur astronomer <u1:p></u1:p>for
further study. Five years later she concluded that the Hills had encountered <u1:p></u1:p>aliens
from the Zeta Reticuli system. Either they were going to the Zeta <u1:p></u1:p>Reticuli
system, or man would eventually go there. <u1:p></u1:p>A few years later, this
account was published. It was very popular and in <u1:p></u1:p>1975, made into
a film called The UFO Incident. Millions of people relived the <u1:p></u1:p>story
of an ordinary couple, a postal worker and a social worker. This was only <u1:p></u1:p>the
beginning. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>If aliens had visited the Earth, then why isn't it common
knowledge? The most <u1:p></u1:p>publicized accounts today come from tabloids
and fanatics. There is not a lot <u1:p></u1:p>of scientist or even government
officials substantiating these claims. One of <u1:p></u1:p>the reasons the
governments around the world would want to hide these facts <u1:p></u1:p>would
be for our safety. Most of the books and movies in our culture portray <u1:p></u1:p>them
negatively. Popular opinion is that if aliens came to Earth, mass hysteria <u1:p></u1:p>would
ensue. The population would run for the hills. Any alien presence that <u1:p></u1:p>can
travel solar systems would surely have the capabilities to destroy the <u1:p></u1:p>Earth.
Or as the latest movies would suggest, kill or enslave the people and <u1:p></u1:p>rape
the planet. Remember "War of the Worlds"? That was only a fictional
radio <u1:p></u1:p>show and there was still a panic. For years the
entertainment industry has been <u1:p></u1:p>playing on our fears of
destruction by some outside force. It's not the Soviet <u1:p></u1:p>Union any
more, It's E.T. He's back because we can't take care of the Earth <u1:p></u1:p>ourselves
and have forfeited our stewardship. Those fictional stories may just be <u1:p></u1:p>for
entertainment, but there are some interesting facts. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
In the middle of the <u1:p></u1:p>Nevada desert, possibly an extension of
Nellis AFB, is something referred to as <u1:p></u1:p>Area51. This is a real
place. It was also very top secret. There are signs all <u1:p></u1:p>around it
restricting access, even that the security has the right to use deadly <u1:p></u1:p>force.
<u1:p></u1:p>In 1951 an alien space craft supposedly crash-landed in Roswell,
New Mexico. <u1:p></u1:p>It was then transported to Area 51. The government of
course denies this, but <u1:p></u1:p>they do admit to some things. For example,
Area51 was where the U-2 was <u1:p></u1:p>developed and tested. Also the SR-71
spy plane that flew over Cuba on the 60's <u1:p></u1:p>was made. Or the Stealth
Bomber, the government still denies this project even <u1:p></u1:p>months after
pictures were taken and released to the public. It's not unusual to <u1:p></u1:p>find
strange lights moving in the sky at night. Area 51 has a reputation as <u1:p></u1:p>testing
grounds for experimental air craft. If the government had found a crash <u1:p></u1:p>landed
alien ship, this would be the place to assess it capabilities. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>There is a lot of information, accounts, stories, etc. out in
the world about <u1:p></u1:p>the possibility of aliens here on Earth. This
certainly warrants further <u1:p></u1:p>investigation. The scientific community
shouldn't be so quick to dismiss these <u1:p></u1:p>claims. Just by the sheer
number of them, they can't all be wrong, can they? <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
Of <u1:p></u1:p>course they can! The Hill story was just one of many highly
publicized cases. <u1:p></u1:p>Millions of people watched then just as they do
now. How many people saw "Fire in the Sky"? Most people today know
what is supposed to happen if aliens from <u1:p></u1:p>Mars come to
"abduct" you, even to the point of knowing what they are supposed to <u1:p></u1:p>look
like. People say that in our time we don't have any myths or legends. I say <u1:p></u1:p>that
we do. They're called Area51, Roswell, and numerous other governmental <u1:p></u1:p>conspiracies.
People have taken their own fears and made them into these <u1:p></u1:p>elaborate
stories. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>So then, is the government hiding alien life? Most people would
agree that <u1:p></u1:p>the government does hide things from the public. That's
why they call it <u1:p></u1:p>national security. Some of the things that our
government does, we really <u1:p></u1:p>wouldn't want to know. But more people
agree that the government is really too <u1:p></u1:p>incompetent to balance the
budget much less fool millions of people. That would <u1:p></u1:p>require
forces beyond their current means. It's the Nixon era relived. Last year <u1:p></u1:p>it
was discovered that life did exist on Mars. This isn't a civilization either. <u1:p></u1:p>Scientists
found fossilized remains of bacteria millions of years old. It was <u1:p></u1:p>found
in a meteorite in the Antarctic. This is as close as we will ever come to <u1:p></u1:p>life
outside the Earth in our solar system with our current technology. Even <u1:p></u1:p>this
data is under scrutiny. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>There is still a possibility of intelligent life nearby. The
only problem is <u1:p></u1:p>a big one for UFO fanatics. Why would they come to
the Earth? Or how would they <u1:p></u1:p>even know that we are out here?
Scientists are using the most primitive means to <u1:p></u1:p>try and contact
outside life. We have only radio waves which would be the bottom <u1:p></u1:p>rung
of the ladder. So our scientist are using the radio waves and sending them <u1:p></u1:p>into
space. <u1:p></u1:p>Even going the speed of light it would still take two
hundred years to reach <u1:p></u1:p>the nearest planetary system, which cannot
support life. We may not even be <u1:p></u1:p>around by the time alien
civilizations receive it. It would still take them two <u1:p></u1:p>hundred
years to come here. That is of course going the speed of light. They <u1:p></u1:p>would
need one big generational ship. Faster than light speed is not possible <u1:p></u1:p>with
our current technology. But supposing they could safely go faster than <u1:p></u1:p>light,
they would of course have ways of overcoming one of the most fundamental <u1:p></u1:p>laws
of physics. <u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<u1:p></u1:p>But I understand how inconvenient the laws of physics can be.
There is another <u1:p></u1:p>interesting theory. Any civilization that has
been around long enough to become a <u1:p></u1:p>member of the United
Federation of Planets would need to have outlived many <u1:p></u1:p>things.
Wars, genocide, nuclear weapons, even its own UFO conspiracy theories. <u1:p></u1:p>They
would have to find a way to live in peace with themselves and others. They <u1:p></u1:p>would
have to realize that the Earth couldn't possibly be redundant elsewhere in <u1:p></u1:p>the
galaxy. If aliens have been coming here since the 1950's (when was "The
War of the<u1:p></u1:p>Worlds" first broadcast?), they have been
experimenting on the wrong people. They should be abducting political,
scientific, and religious leaders, not Betty and Barney Hill. People would
believe Carl Sagan, but question Barney Hill. So then it's really a question of
credibility. Alien life exists out beyond our <u1:p></u1:p>solar system, but
have they already come here? <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
We could just be a cosmic <u1:p></u1:p>accident. We could also be a
civilization searching for answers in the midst of <u1:p></u1:p>many. Despite
all of the evidence to the contrary, people are not entirely <u1:p></u1:p>dissuaded.
Maybe that's because all of the evidence to the contrary<u1:p></u1:p> is not
entirely dissuasive.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-91340670948603312452013-10-25T12:08:00.000-07:002013-10-25T12:08:37.330-07:00Redundancy, Boredom and Learning<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Educational Psychology 6560</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For some terrible reasons I find myself studying/reading during horror movies, which I love. To be clear though I do re-read the material without distraction later. It's as if each activity, studying or watching a movie, is not engaging enough on its own. Outside of school I still do the same thing. I'll work on a project, watch a movie, stop, get up, clean something, etc. I had to write about this a few years ago and learning why it was not so effective was interesting yet didn't change my study habits. Now I listen to a podcast or audiobook while reading a book or article at the same time. I feel like one portion has become boring and I want to focus on the other. But how would I know unless I were paying close attention?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I read over articles
and case studies on multimedia learning a movie is playing on my television.
It’s The Descent, a horror movie from 2005 showing a caving expedition gone
horribly wrong when a group of friends is separated and savagely killed by the
inhabitant creatures. Back to the article is a paragraph on something called
the split attention effect where increases in the cognitive load to the visual
channel by sharing attentional resources between various sources of visual
information “( Eric Jamet 590). Were I actively learning about caving from this
movie it would be severely impeded by my glancing up to my television only
during the various screaming attacks and obviously my focus on the article changes
constantly: hiding from creatures to “advocates of cognitive load theory often
refer to the studies reviewed by Penney (1989) and the working memory model
proposed by….”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And again, someone else
has died horribly. This is not an ideal environment for learning and I am experiencing
a cognitive overload, something shared by countless students in a formal classroom
setting when their multimedia presentations create a redundancy effect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How much of our lives
involve this split attention effect? Recent studies suggest that people who
send and receive text messages while driving have an increased chance of
accidents while the average person will probably over-estimate their ability to
multitask. And yet there aren’t similar issues with drivers using their GPS
devices in their cars so some adaptability seems to be possible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I cannot watch a movie and read an
intellectually dense article at the same time, and yet I see notes in the
margins of the papers and highlighted words. My notes for a five page study contain
the words “put keywords on slides to improve transfer”. This does summarize
fairly accurately but a fragmented sentence does not convey any subtle nuance
or personal insight. The movie though not as important is still fresh in my
mind perhaps there was a positive life lesson I missed but it will probably
haunt my nightmares for a few days more at least.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“The cognitive theory
of multimedia learning is based on the idea that there are separate processing
systems for pictorial and verbal information and that learning consists of
established links between the verbal and pictorial representations.”(Jamet)
This has been studied extensively in the area of sign language linguistics. The
language may be entirely visual and yet it uses the language portions of the
brain. When signers have strokes and are tested in various visual-spatial and
linguistic tasks it becomes evident that the language reception (verbal) and
ability remains intact while the spatial abilities (pictoral) do not (and
vice-versa); depending on the damage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Meaningful learning is
a deep understanding of the material and presupposes the active processing of
the document. It is revealed in the ability to apply what has been learned to
new situations, in particular within the framework of knowledge transfer
problems. It requires the construction of a mental model of the document on the
basis of three processes: selection of important elements in the presented
material, the organization of these elements within a coherent structure and
their integration into existing knowledge. “(Jamet). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There are several
channels available when instructing using multimedia and students vary in their
learning. When presenting using spoken words only you give no other option and
can only hope that a majority of the class will benefit from this method.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Narrated animation using pictures and spoken
words give the learner two paths and can accommodate even more students who now
have the ability to choose. Yet some students need additional options and the
printed narration would be more beneficial. My younger brother prefers to watch
television with the closed captioning on at all times even though he has no
hearing loss. For him it seems to be a reinforcement of the spoken words which
somehow supports comprehension and a dominance of the remote control. Or at
least that is my professional opinion of the situation. This is called the
learning preferences hypothesis: students learn in different ways and the more
formats available, the more students will learn.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Giving them all available options should
increase the amount of information they can process. It would not be possible
to tailor instruction to every combination of channel input and so using text,
animation and narration in theory could improve all learners. They do better
when allowed input into their method of instruction and may have some channel
blockage itself due to physical or mental impairment. Yet when instruction is
presented covering all possible channels the students actually learn less. Much
like watching a horror movie and reading an article, this can increase the
cognitive load to the visual channel and decrease the amount of processing possible
(book). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to the
information-delivery theory of multimedia learning, learning “occurs when
information is presented by the instructor and received by the student”. The
reception will be better when more delivery paths are used. But the
capacity-limitation hypothesis states that “people have a limited capacity to
process visually presented material and limited capacity to process auditorily
presented material.” (book). When students view a multimedia presentation that
is both narrated and subtitled it impairs their ability to “attend to relevant
portions of the incoming visual and auditory information and organize the
material into coherent verbal and pictorial representations and integrate the
two representations. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This creates a
redundancy effect in that overloading the visual channel by having animation,
narration and text will decrease the retention and understanding of material. No
matter how fastidiously I take notes on caving, I will never learn enough of it
to implement anything from watching the movie. The emotional distraction is
just too intense to overcome. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a capacity
limitation on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning which conflicts with
the learning preference hypothesis. Students learn better when they have more
options and the ability to choose their input channel. But having too many
options is an impediment that cannot be overcome. It seems as if at this point
in the learning that every student is a small child being asked what flavor of
ice cream they want for the last ice cream cone they will ever have and is
impossible decide. Even though the theories seem to conflict it is important to
remember that the theory of multimedia learning applies to narrated animation
and has no opportunity for cognitive overload. With subtitled narration though
it would seem to still cause problems with a split attention effect. You can
create positive results by adding only keywords to the animation making the
information successive rather than merely redundant. The extraneous filler that
can come with narration should be reduced to as little as possible and can
support the multimedia immensely.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When doing class
presentations I find myself unable to read directly from the power point
slides. This is due to feeling uncomfortable reading aloud in front of the
class when really I am trying to engage them. Instead I prefer to create
extensive slides with either pictures or text but rarely both per slide. Then
with only a sentence or idea written down beforehand I can discuss the material
with the class in more of a conversational format yet being infinitely more
knowledgeable about the subject matter thus feeding into my superiority
complex. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I suggest a new study.
Place subjects in a life or death situation and the information to survive to
will presented via multimedia. Group A will have animation, narration and
subtitles and Group B will only have animation and narration. With this
newfound motivation we can really see how much of a hindrance redundancy can
be. The survivors will be tallied and interviewed as to how much the multimedia
they remember and the victims will be buried. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-14755038793062313302013-10-24T11:51:00.001-07:002014-01-27T08:33:13.106-08:00Did I really turn this in? Yes...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Backstory: I was hanging out at the parent's house while my
younger brother had a small party with friends, I was not living there at the
time. Completely bored out of my mind I hid in my little sister's room for a
while but eventually had to find food. As I entered the living room I could see
my brother on the couch with a girl on his lap. Immediately I went up to her
and in the most pissed off way possible said to her "What are you doing
with my boyfriend!". The room fell silent and her eyes widened in abject
terror. She actually shrunk back. After about 10 seconds I told everyone I was
joking and just the older sister. This is probably my favorite act of sibling
abuse to date though I look forward to topping it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The Threatening Function of Language: ‘What are you doing
with my boyfriend?’ Sociolinguistics is the study of the interrelationship of
language and social structure. Language has a social and a communicative
function and is a kind of social behavior. It can be used to establish or
reinforce social relationships or to control the behavior of other people
(manipulation). In the context of my question to my brother’s friend who I will
call Chlamydia*, my underlying meaning was that of ‘I am going to beat your ass
in front of all these people if you don’t get off his lap, bitch.’ I of course
knew that this was a threatening way of asking a very innocuous question and
did it simply for the reaction. A warning was also implied in an attempt to
control her behavior and even more subtly the behavior of everyone in the
living room by getting them to watch us. I consider this Skilled Work as it is
a respected ability and not many people could perform so well under that kind
of pressure.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
*not her real name though could possibly be.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Classifier Predicate: A girl sitting on my brother’s lap. A
Classifier is a handshape that is combined with location, orientation,
movement, handshape and non-manual markers to form a predicate. A predicate is
a way of saying things about nouns or noun phrases,. Classifier predicates have
two parts, the Movement Roots and the Classifier Handshapes. In this example,
the Movement Root is a Contact Root. The hand has a downward movement but this
doesn’t mean that the object is moving or that you are describing the shape of
the object/person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Classifier
Handshape is a Whole Entity Morpheme. These are handshapes that refer to an
object as a whole: my brother and the girl, Chlamydia. In combination, you can
see my description of my brother with Chlamydia sitting on his lap. <o:p></o:p></div>
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-14374343932135358642013-10-24T10:48:00.001-07:002013-10-24T10:56:26.976-07:00Making Up Words with Stephen ColbertLinguistics 5200: Special Topics -American Sign Language<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
I would treat <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">umpteenth</i> as a morphologically complex
word having four morphemes, ump, teen, th and umpteenth itself as a whole. Adding
the meaning of each morpheme does not create the same idea. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something similar I’ve seen occurs with the
word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cranberry</i>. You can separate out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cran</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">berry</i> yet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cran</i> has no
meaning by itself while berry does. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cran</i>
would then be treated as a bound morpheme in the same way that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ump</i> is as neither means anything but a
vague something-like when added to certain free morphemes. I think the main
issue is whether you can take <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ump</i> out
and still call it a morpheme even though it’s not in any other word which uses
it in this way. Having a ‘vague something-like’ quality may be enough as there
are many other words which also do this, due to the efforts of the mass media.
I was watching a fake news show (the Daily Show) and there was a segment
discussing the Cookie Monster being a bad nutritional role model for children.
Stephen Colbert couldn’t get an interview with Mr. Monster and announced that
he had recreated his attempt with an ‘imaginactment’ and thus cutting to him
chasing down a car containing something blue and fuzzy. The entire word is
nothing but bound morphemes which only contain meaning when together. There may
be few examples of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ump</i> used this way
but there are many words which are put together and still understood in an
entertaining play on the English language. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
I find this type of coinage to be deliciously satisfying. Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-48747344969729971552013-10-24T10:45:00.001-07:002013-10-24T10:56:10.684-07:00English Language: A Fluid Definition and a SmartassLinguistics 5200: Special Topics -American Sign Language<br />
<br />
The English
language is composed of sounds (phonology), which have no
meaning and are then combined into words (morphology) which do. The spoken and
written words are arbitrary and iconic in relation to their expressed symbols.
These words are combined with others in a structured format consisting of
semantics and syntax all with meaning shared by groups of English language
users. The users of English then
affect the language as they modify it to suit their communicative
needs.<br />
<br />
The differences between
English and other languages can be explained
as a family resemblance of languages and lesser dialects. The main distinction
between the English language and others is then socially and culturally
constructed (with a few phonological variations and vernacular, dude). The
context and need for English is defined by the English Speakers themselves who
consciously and unconsciously control
its use and meaning.<br />
<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> T</span>o
say that English consists of phonology and morphology is overshadowed by the
users who are really the ones that define it. The English language itself then
is very fluid and changing based on the social and cultural variables of the
moment when being availed. You would need a solid definition of the culture of
an individual to then successfully describe their specific English Language
System, while it changes to suit their needs. Good luck figuring that out.<o:p></o:p>Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7349489970883693388.post-49469898552676516022013-10-21T08:27:00.001-07:002013-10-24T10:52:23.439-07:00What's Up With That?Howdy.<br />
<br />
I work for a University and love learning just about anything. Sometimes I have to write up info for my IT job but really want an outlet for the awesomeness I read about, all the freaking time. I have a SlideShare account but come on, Power Point isn't the all-appropriate format for anything I think about after some brain wandering.<br />
<br />
I have a lot of old assignments and writing I'm going to post and comment on but throughout will be the new things I'm reading about. <br />
<br />
I have an AAS in Physics (MacGyver), a BS in Communication and a M.Ed in Instructional Design and Educational Technology. I also have a decent amount of credits in ASL Linguistics. Lately I've been interested in critical thinking and technology in the area of phishing. This will be a potential Phd program if I can find a good focus within. <br />
<br />
Bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10021734649932839352noreply@blogger.com0