LifeHack
Cool Mac Os X tool: mail appetizer:
Have a look at your incoming email without switching to Mail. Mail.appetizer is a plug-in for Apple's Mail and integrates seamlessly. The moment a new message is received, Mail.appetizer displays an onscreen notification window. It gives you a brief summary of the message, so you can determine whether the message requires your immediate attention.
Washington's University critics about google scholar are worth to have a glance.
The pluses are obvious: - it's free and easy to use. - it does a pretty good job of delivering only "scholarly" stuff. - the "cited by" links are especially handy and far easier (if far less complete) than searching in Web of Science. - there are many links to free fulltext and available fulltext (for WU users). - sometimes it's actually searching and retrieving from fulltext; most search tools only search titles, citations, abstracts and keywords.The minuses are subtle, but a bit worrisome: - holes in coverage aren't obvious; if you just want a few recent citations this is OK; if you want a more comprehensive search, other tools need to be used; undergraduates and casual searchers may not appreciate these distinctions. - citations may not link to fulltext even when we do have access at another site or print copies in the library or access via Interlibrary Loan request; again casual searchers may not consider other options and may supply their credit card to get access when it would be freely available via another route. - lots of search, sort and download features are missing, citation formats are inconsistent, etc., but this is a Beta site right now so I expect some improvements may be forthcoming.
(via la feuille), there is now a "creative common" project for scientists and academics. It's funny to get this just two weeks after google scholar. Hum I'm doing apophenia here :) Is too much patterning bad for health?!
Any way, the use of creative common licenses for academic production raises interesting issues that should be tackled. Judging from the website, it is a bit too much US-oriented but it's a good starting point.
The mission of Science Commons is to encourage scientific innovation by making it easier for scientists, universities, and industries to use literature, data, and other scientific intellectual property and to share their knowledge with others. Science Commons works within current copyright and patent law to promote legal and technical mechanisms that remove barriers to sharing.
I am very interested in this topic: Xerox scientist finds meaning in how documents are presented. They develop ways to measure intent and eye-appeal of documents in collaboration with RIT scientists.
Harrington and his colleagues have identified more than 150 measurable value functions, including density of the text, colourfulness of images, regularity of positioning of images, and diversity of font and typeface, that a designer can use to convey the intent of a document. But their research explores the idea that although style is measured in a large number of value properties, those can be clustered into a relatively small number of intents.(...) With document layout a key means of expressing intent, the scientists considered rules for automating document layouts. They sought objective formulas that could be used to calculate the aesthetics of a document no matter where it appeared.
Among the quantifiable factors they found that could produce aesthetically pleasing layouts were alignment, regularity, uniform separation, balance, proportion of white space, height to width proportion, uniformity and "page security" - the positioning of small objects so they don't appear to be falling off a page
The december's Communications of the ACM is a special issue about blogging. Stuff to read this week end ;)
The BlogosphereIntroduction Andrew Rosenbloom, Senior Editor Structure and Evolution of Blogspace Ravi Kumar, Jasmine Novak, Prabhakar Raghavan, and Andrew Tomkins Why We Blog Bonnie A. Nardi, Diane J. Schiano, Michelle Gumbrecht, and Luke Swartz Semantic Blogging and Decentralized Knowledge Management Steve Cayzer How Blogging Software Reshapes the Online Community Rebecca Blood Democracy and Filtering Cass R. Sunstein
I have always thought a meme analyzer (that would trace the spreak of info-virus-meme) would be great. This Blog Epidemic Analyzer is a step toward it. (via)
This is a demonstration website for our recent research (here and here) on information dynamics in blogspace. You may type in a partial substring of a URL you would like to track. For example compare slow, long running memes like "giantmicrobes" (i.e. www.giantmicrobes.com) or "spambayes" (i.e. spambayes.sourceforge.net) to short punctuated ones like "cnn.com" articles. Check out this page for some popular memes/URLs from that period.
The Laptop and the Lecture: The Effects of Multitasking in Learning Environments (.pdf) by Hembrooke and Gay from Cornell's Human Computer Interaction Lab.
The effects of multitasking in the classroom were investigated in students in an upper level Communications course. Two groups of students heard the same exact lecture and tested immediately following the lecture. One group of students was allowed to use their laptops to engage in browsing, search, and/or social computing behaviors during the lecture. Students in the second condition were asked to keep their laptops closed for the duration of the lecture. Students in the open laptop condition suffered decrements on traditional measures of memory for lecture content. A second experiment replicated the results of the first. Data were further analyzed by “browsing style.” Results are discussed from Lang’s Limited Process Capacity model in an attempt to better understand the mechanisms involved in the decrement. (Keywords: multitasking, divided attention, technology, education, limited capacity model)
Ingenta proposes two tools in the forms of bookmarklets (simple tools that extend the surf and browse capabilities of your web browser) to augment google scholar that could be useful:
Google Scholar Highlighter: If you use Google Scholar, this bookmarklet will highlight the citations in your search results which have full text on IngentaConnect. Run your search and then click on the toolbar link to highlight the IngentaConnect results.Search IngentaConnect via Google Scholar: Use Google Scholar to search IngentaConnect. Highlight words on any web page and click the link, or enter words into the pop-up box. Your search will be executed on Google but the results will be limited to those available on IngentaConnect.
Last week I was eager to get some more information about how the librarian community dealt with google scholar. I discussed with few of them and found this interesting summary:
Finally, specialized databases are still valuable for many types of seaching, including searching for "scholarly material." Why? A few examples: + Limit to material published by date + Ability to view more than 1000 results. The Google cutoff of 1000 results is still in place with Google Scholar + Google is constantly crawling the web but we don't know how often the Google Scholar database is being refreshed with new content + Searching using a controlled vocabulary/subject searching + Ability to limit by publisher affiliation + You can limit by author with author: but you can only use a last name. First names and initials are not searchable when using author:. + Proximity operators + Gobs and gobs of content, Google Scholar still doesn't have it all. Example: While you're find John Grisham books, you will NOT find material (both current and archived) from MANY newspapers, trade publications, and general interest periodicals. + I'm sure you can add many more examples of what's NOT there
Some basic facts: + In a nutshell, Google has built an algorithm that makes a calculated guess at to *what it thinks* is a scholarly content mined from the OPEN WEB, and then makes it accessible via the Google Scholar interface. + Precisely what makes something "scholarly" enough to be included in Google Scholar, Google will not say. And this is not an insignificant omission
+ Material accessible via Google Scholar can also be in the main Google index. + Google Scholar results pages *will not contain advertising* -- at least for now. + Some examples of material from major publishers whose material you'll find (we know Google has been working with many)? Google will not provide us with a complete list, but look for content from ACM, IEEE, and yes, Open Worldcat material from OCLC. We also don't know precisely what is and is not available, date ranges, etc. * In some cases Google will be crawling and searching the full text of an article but users will either have to have a subscription to the content or pay for access to an individual articles. + VERY COOL! For many citations, you'll find a direct link to other articles in the Google Scholar database that cite the article you've selected. Yes, Google Scholar is a citation database too! This reminds me of two specialized databases that focus on specific types of scholarly content accessible on the open web that have been online for many years and remain EXCELLENT tools. 1) CiteSeer (focuses on computer science material, info tech content) 2) SmealSearch (focuses on business material)
Might this be a golden opportunity for the library community to tell people -- look, we have access to this stuff and MUCH MUCH MORE? We have better ways to search it, and you might not even have to pay for it? Well, yeah...but if what we've seen in the past is any indication, this is not going to happen. Maybe this time it will be different. Bottom line: It's very difficult to compete with the Google marketing machine. In the meantime, we'll be extremely interested in the response to Google Scholar from fee-based database publishers. Some might ask, are specialized database tools still necessary? Info pros know they are but we sure haven't done a good job of explaining why.
This page explains why a postgrad student chose to blog his course. It offers interesting insights about how blogs could be use to support project management for students.
Like almost every other student, I take notes, furious notes, during class time. I spend a lot of time with my laptop open in front of me, typing away. I don't get a lot of synthesis and analysis time. That's what the blog is for. I use it to rewrite my notes, and in doing so, I reconstruct what I've learned for myself. It's a great tool for learning because I have to basically teach/explain what I've just learned to people that weren't there and who may or may not have any context for what it is I'm talking about.
Has blogging helped you increase your learning network? (Who replies to your blog entries? How has it affected your relationship with your classmates? With your instructors?)
One thing that is interesting about blogging my classes is that other students and professors are aware of it and react in different ways. Some find it great, others, an intrusion on their privacy. The opinion has even been expressed that this information is ours, it belongs to the graduate students and faculty of CMU, and that I shouldn't be posting any of it. And there is some truth to that, although no blog entry is ever going to completely capture the experience of going to school and sitting in classes. There is so much that goes uncaptured. And, truthfully, there have been a few things I've learned that I have kept to myself, that I don't blog. I occasionally feel that something I learn is mine to hold onto and not share with my readers.
Do you find any limitations with current blogging software features and functions? (If you could change/add some features, what would they be?)
Dan: RSS readers, in general, take away from the interactivity of blogs. There's no easy way to incorporate comments into the xml feed, so that cuts down on the comments you get. I got more comments when I was on Blogger and didn't have an RSS feed like I do now with MovableType. There is a way to do this, but it isn't easy and the comments don't display with the feed itself.
This is just an update of my previous post.
These days, I am trying to figure out the global picture of my phd, that's why I am into napkin sketches and mind maps. I found this short tutorial on the web. Here are the rules:
Mind mapping (or concept mapping) involves writing down a central idea and thinking up new and related ideas which radiate out from the centre. By focussing on key ideas written down in your own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between the ideas, you are mapping knowledge in a manner which will help you understand and remember new information.- Use lines, colours, arrows, branches or some other way of showing connections between the ideas generated on your mind map. These relationships may be important in you understanding new information or in constructing a structured essay plan. - Draw quickly on unlined paper without pausing, judging or editing - Use capitals to encourage you to get down only the key points. Capitals are also easier to read in a diagram. - Put main idea in the centre, landscape style - Leave lots of space: some of the most useful mind maps are those which are added to over a period of time
I often use napkin to draw sketches but I am an awfull drawer. That's why I turned myself to this summary of Napkin Sketches 101 written by Don Moyer in 360
1. Realize ugly is beautiful. Crude, ugly and wobbly are okay. If the idea captured is valid, youll have time later to make it beautiful. 2. Master the basics. If you can draw a half-dozen simple shapes youre ready to take on almost any topic. 3. Use labels. Include lots of labels and notes so things will make sense to you when reviewed at a later date. 4. Keep it simple. In general, leave out any detail that will not be missed. 5. Be consistent. Avoid variations that dont mean anything. 6. Break some rules. Dont worry about keeping things in the right scale. 7. Let your arrows speak. Pointing arrows are the verbs in a napkin sketch. 8. Use the right tools. Use whatever surface is available paper, whiteboard, small note-paper etc. 9. Dont keep the napkin on your lap. Dont hide your sketches in a file folder. Make them visible and share them with teammates.
Here is my new office configuration: the biggest screen is used for communication (I run AIM on ichat, MSN and a MOO). The laptop screen is devoted for the current task:
I stumbled across a very informative paper about a cognitive analysis of work/flow disruptions: Cognitive attractors and office work by Saadi LAHLOU. It is unfortunately in french but here is the english abstract:
The Cognitive Overflow Syndrome (“COS”: too many things to do, not enough time, etc) is widespread among managers and other intellectual workers. We have constructed an explanatory model of this syndrome, based on detailed studies of daily work. The agents are described as switching between “cognitive attractors”. A cognitive attractor is a set of material and immaterial elements which potentially contribute to a given activity, and which are simultaneously present from the point of view of the agent. The attractor is interpreted by the subject as a Gestalt. A given configuration, combining elements of the context and of the point of view of the subject, tend to engage the latter in the corresponding activity. The force of the attractor resides in the combination of several factors: the visibility of the task, its cost, its value. The agent is not in complete control of his activity: he is carried along by the flow at the same time as he orients himself. A disordered environment with too many attractors tends to provoke procrastination and flitting from one task to another: the agents exhaust themselves in a sequence of urgent minor tasks, to the detriment of major projects. Our hypothesis is that informatics revolution aggravates the COS because it multiplies the attractors. Several concrete remedies are proposed. Keywords: observation, cognitive attractors, saturation, COS, information, intellectual work, attention, video, Electricité de France, Umwelt, affordance, design.
The Life Hacks wiki seems to be less minimal. Now there are categories worth to read:
- SelfImprovementPatterns - SecretScripts - IdeasRot - LifeHackerScreenshots - GettingThingsDone - WishList - A list of things users wish they had when it came to life hacking - LifeHackerLanguages
Via the life-hack blog 43 tfolders, a really good tutorial about how to avoid procrastination. Selected quotes:
1. identify all the stuff in your life that isn’t in the right place (close all open loops) 2. get rid of the stuff that isn’t yours or you don’t need right now 3. create a right place that you trust and that supports your working style and values 4. put your stuff in the right place, consistently 5. do your stuff in a way that honors your time, your energy, and the context of any given moment 6. iterate and refactor mercilessly (...) I really do want to look at how things like Quicksilver, iCal, BBEdit, NetNewsWire, and the almighty shell script can make this easier for all my Apple sisters and brothers
M Vance also gives good hints:
Outcomes & Actions 1. describe in a single sentence the intended successful outcome for the problem or situation 2. write down the very next physical action required to move the situation forward
SUMMARY 1. keep everything out of your head 2. decide actions and outcomes when things first emerge on your radar, instead of later 3. regularly review and update the complete inventory of open loops of your life and work
Pick up anything around you that you’re wondering what to do with, and apply a simple set of formulae:
• I don’t need or want it = trash • I still need to decide what this means to me = IN basket item • I might need to know this information = reference • I use it = equipment and supplies • I like to see it = decoration • When I could possibly move on it, I want to see the action as an option = next action reminder, reviewed when and where it could be done • I need to be reminded of this short-term outcome I’ve committed to = project list item, reviewed weekly • I need to have this when I focus on a project = support material • I might want to commit to this at any time in the future = Someday/maybe list item • I might want to commit to this on or after a specific time in the future = calendared or “tickled” item incubated for review on a specific future date • I want to achieve this “bigger” outcome = goals, objectives, visions that you review on some longer interval • It’s something someone else is doing that I care about = item on Waiting-For list, reviewed at least weekly • I need to consider it when I do certain recurring activities = item on a checklist
Today I work in Lyon in a video game company that design new entertainment projects. I am in charge of a small R&D consulting for them. The point is to transfer ideas from social/psychology and behavior research into sound guidelines that can help the games design. The environment is cool, it's located in one of those technoparc, a cluster made of University of Lyon, lots of start ups (mainly pharmaceutical and biotech), various research labs, an engineering school).
I had the chance to meet Hubert Chardot, the guy who designed Alone in th Dark 1-2-3. We had an interesting chat about R&D and game design (that's one my interests).
I like Stuart Hensall's take on blog and social software. in his Manifesto For Social Networking Required
My Blog is Better at Networking I know the humble blog has been held up as a social network many times. From experience my blog is much better than any of the SNS as a networking tool. One advantage my blog has over all the SNS is I can make connections with people that aren't in any network. I've found some of the non-blogger connections to be the most important of all. I've also found following up on trackbacks and comments much more valuable.
(via boingboing)This website presents a wide bunch of life hacks from various jobs.
Cartographer: Mapmakers will often use copyright traps, bits of information in their maps that are purposefully wrong. They might label a body of water Lake Strongbad, for instance, and then examine the next editions of competitors maps to see if the incorrect information makes an appearance.
