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Claims About Computer Graded Essays

The New York Times featured an article today discussing recent back and forth over computer graded essays. There seem to be many critics: “Let’s face the realities of automatic essay scoring,” the group’s statement reads in part. “Computers cannot ‘read.’ They cannot measure the essentials of effective written communication: accuracy, reasoning, adequacy of evidence, good … Continue reading Claims About Computer Graded Essays

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Three Little Words

The saying goes “less is more.” Except, of course, in academic writing, where “more is more.” Effectively, the more verbose, wordy and academic-sounding a work reads, the better it seems, regardless of actual content. This logic has unfortunately mixed into the worlds of Literary Criticism, Gender Studies and Postcolonial Theory, with awful results. Consider titles. … Continue reading Three Little Words

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The MLA Now has Guidelines for Citing Twitter

In keeping with the “modern” part of its name, the Modern Language Association has instituted guidelines for citing a tweet.  It’s admittedly neat that Twitter posts now have enough resonance to merit inclusion, though the Association’s example – a Pakistani man’s May 2011 observation of a helicopter carrying SEAL Team 6, who shortly thereafter killed … Continue reading The MLA Now has Guidelines for Citing Twitter

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Doom, Gloom, and Just a Little Zoom

The Rolling Stones’ newly-released “Doom and Gloom” does not break musical ground, and, frankly, that’s a good thing. The song plays to the group’s strengths – dominating drumbeats, straightforward production values, and a catchy, ringtone-worthy opening riff – while simultaneously repackaging lyrics for a Millenial audience. The result is a somewhat unexceptional, but nonetheless catchy and enjoyable track that ranks among the Stones’s A- work.
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It’s a Cold, Code War

The news about Flame and its relatives being confirmed as a US/Israel coordinated attack on Iran has mostly been taken with the same awe that a Tom Clancy novel might instill in a reader.  We have the President(s) as our Jack Ryan, approving a massive long term software-based intelligence gathering/ infrastructure-crippling mission that keeps our … Continue reading It’s a Cold, Code War

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Shopping Online vs. On Line

I received an Amazon giftcard the other day.  As I perused the site and compared prices with other e-tailers such as Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart, I found that, as always, Amazon undercuts its competition, especially with tax and shipping factored in. Since I spend much of my pocket change at Amazon, this discovery came as no surprise.

But what was surprising was an interesting metric; Amazon, nearly earth’s largest bookseller, books a net profit of only 1.34%.  Granted, they rely on volume, not margin, for profits, but this incredibly low number was compelling, and seems indicative of Amazon’s corporate philosophy of using loss leaders – like the Kindle Fire – and microscopic margins to catch and keep customers within its simple and increasingly expanding product and entertainment ecosystem.  The thinking is, as long as one buys a book at Amazon – giving them, say 28 cents on every $25 hardcover sold – one may as well purchase digital content from Amazon’s burgeoning music, video, and e-book selections.  And while you’re at it, why not everything else?

Continue reading “Shopping Online vs. On Line”