I have just read another article by an academic lamenting the unreliable quality of much of the material on the Internet (“The New Literacy” by Rhonda Mullins, Concordia University Magazine, fall 2006, pp.12ff.). The article lauds a project Concordia Libraries have undertaken to create a “self-paced interactive online tutorial” to assist students in “finding useful information, evaluating it critically and using it ethically.”
Laudable, and necessary, as this project may be it begs at least a couple of questions. As an irresponsible smart mouth I might poke fun at this use of the Internet to avoid the evils of the Internet. However, being slightly more responsible than that, I must readily concede that those very skills were essential ones to responsible research long before the Internet was even a gleam in the eye of the military establishment. It is not immediately obvious to me that the challenge of exercising such discernment is any more difficult when applied to Internet sources than it is when applied to print ones.
Repeatedly I hear academics and voices from the academic community trumpeting caution. I would be more heartened if more of them were seeking more ways to distribute their peer reviewed articles and scholarly work via the Internet. The vaunted arguments about copyright and being paid for ones work are all ones that can be addressed equally well when it comes to publication on the Internet as when applied to print.
This is not a defence of the quality of what appears on the Internet. However, to merely focus on the unreliable quality of some Internet data is much like criticizing those who get their news from the tabloids - without doing whatever one could to establish a responsible press (but that is another story for another day).
Monday, October 16, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Demerit Points for Attitude
One of the luxuries of retirement is the opportunity to linger over the morning paper, which would be a great experience if the daily press was a bit more reflective and edifying. But hey, who am I to complain, I am apparently easily fascinated with the curious and the mundane.
This morning, for instance, I read the whole text of a relatively inconsequential article reporting on the activities of the Ontario Provincial Police in ticketing drivers on the province's highways over the recent holiday weekend.
One anecdote caught my eye. It seems that a 50 year old grandfather was stopped for not wearing a seatbelt. Ticket #1. As it happened he was transporting an unrestrained six month old grandchild in a carseat. Ticket #2. Then, in a fit of rage, he tore up the two tickets that had been issued to him and threw them out the car window onto the ground. Ticket #3 for littering. Hats off to the officer for doing the right thing.
It's almost unfortunate that there is not a ticket for "Having a Bad Attitude." This fellow was obviously a case of road rage just looking for a place to happen.
On the one hand, this is just a story to read and laugh about. And, that's where I began in my response. But then I started to think about the six month old grandchild in the car seat. What did this infant do to deserve having an irresponsible grandfather. If he wants to risk his health and safety by driving without a seatbelt he is at least toying with his own destiny. What gives him the right to risk the child's destiny? The optimistic side of my personality hopes that perhaps the guy, when his passion subsided, would recognize and accept the error of his actions. The cynical, read "realist", side of my personality fears that he will simply be more determined than ever not to let anyone tell him how to live his life.
The one positive side of it is that hopefully the grandchild, who is only six months old according to the report, will not have understood or remember what went on and will not be moved to emulate the grandfather's attitude in the years ahead.
This morning, for instance, I read the whole text of a relatively inconsequential article reporting on the activities of the Ontario Provincial Police in ticketing drivers on the province's highways over the recent holiday weekend.
One anecdote caught my eye. It seems that a 50 year old grandfather was stopped for not wearing a seatbelt. Ticket #1. As it happened he was transporting an unrestrained six month old grandchild in a carseat. Ticket #2. Then, in a fit of rage, he tore up the two tickets that had been issued to him and threw them out the car window onto the ground. Ticket #3 for littering. Hats off to the officer for doing the right thing.
It's almost unfortunate that there is not a ticket for "Having a Bad Attitude." This fellow was obviously a case of road rage just looking for a place to happen.
On the one hand, this is just a story to read and laugh about. And, that's where I began in my response. But then I started to think about the six month old grandchild in the car seat. What did this infant do to deserve having an irresponsible grandfather. If he wants to risk his health and safety by driving without a seatbelt he is at least toying with his own destiny. What gives him the right to risk the child's destiny? The optimistic side of my personality hopes that perhaps the guy, when his passion subsided, would recognize and accept the error of his actions. The cynical, read "realist", side of my personality fears that he will simply be more determined than ever not to let anyone tell him how to live his life.
The one positive side of it is that hopefully the grandchild, who is only six months old according to the report, will not have understood or remember what went on and will not be moved to emulate the grandfather's attitude in the years ahead.
Seasonal Blogging Disorder
Every summer, round about early August, I get the urge to reactivate my blog. It is a very compelling experience. I try my best to dismiss it as unimportant to my life, but it keeps rising to the surface and demanding to be placated.
The experience of the past is that the only way to requite this urge is to give in to it and whip out a couple of posts. Ironically, unlike submission to other urges in life, capitulating seems to quell the pang. Oh, if consuming food would only do that for the compulsion to eat! Anyway, here I am again.
I am making no resolutions about constancy. In fact, I may only be attempting to still the demons, but here goes. Don't expect something consequential! Passing urges are not usually the inspiration for great craftsmanship and deep thought!
The experience of the past is that the only way to requite this urge is to give in to it and whip out a couple of posts. Ironically, unlike submission to other urges in life, capitulating seems to quell the pang. Oh, if consuming food would only do that for the compulsion to eat! Anyway, here I am again.
I am making no resolutions about constancy. In fact, I may only be attempting to still the demons, but here goes. Don't expect something consequential! Passing urges are not usually the inspiration for great craftsmanship and deep thought!
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