This blog is mostly professional, but may have some personal notes in it as well, as it affects my professional activities.

Its namesake stems from my PhD research into regional identities in the late eighteenth century in what is now southern Bavaria.

I blog about issues related to information literacy, access to library resources, the environment, and the Historical Geography of Rupertsland.

Some sources regarding his life and work.

Fischer, H. (1988) ‘Schön und vortrefflich’: die ‘Charte von Schwaben’: Ein kartengeschichtlich bedeutsames Werk zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts, in: Beiträge zur Landeskunde: Regelmässige Beilage zum Staatsanzeiger für Baden-Württemberg, Juni 1988, 3:1–8.

Fischer, H. (1988) Die ‘Charte von Schwaben’ im Massstab 1:86,400: Erläuterungen, in the series: Reproduktionen alter Karten, Stuttgart.

Fischer, H. (1993) Die ‘Charte von Schwaben’ 1:86,400, Cartographica Helvetica 7 (1993) 1–10.Gradmann, J.J. (1802) Das gelehrte Schwaben: oder Lexicon der jetzt lebenden schwäbischen Schriftsteller, Ravensburg.

Günther, Siegmund (1922) Eine Kartierung Oberschwabens um die Wende des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts, Sitzungsberichte der mathematisch-physikalischen Klasse der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München, Jahrgang 1921 315–330, 317n.

Wolfart, P. (2008) Mapping the Early Modern State: the Work of Ignaz Ambros Amman, 1782–1812, Journal of Historical Geography, 34(1):1-23.

"Ignaz Ambros von Amman" in Wikipedia [short entry but cites Wolfart (2008).]


Indigenous Studies Portal News

Thursday, August 6, 2009

more journalism standards

It just keeps getting worse. Just finished hearing a story on the CBC about a funeral service being held for Britains last WWI vet in Well's Cathedral "west of London".

Look on a map, please. It's in Somerset for pete's sake, other end of the country, akin to St. Patrick's Cathedral in NY, is east of San Francisco. PLEASE bring back bone head capes and bays geography to centres of higher learning, or change your hiring policy at the CBC, and hire people with at least a modicum of geographical knowledge. Near Bath, might have helped, or if you must near Bristol.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Journalism Standards

I certainly don't have all the answers, but listening to the same story twice this morning, once on the so-called national news, and once on the local news, highlighted for me something that is truly missing in news reporting here, the tripartite split between news of national, or even international importance, news of local importance, and news that is of no importance, but can serve to entertain, or educate.

The story in question this morning was about somebody getting shot at a social gathering near my local community. Indeed very sad for the parties involved, and frightening for the wider community, but NOT on its own a national news story. The national story that wasn't reported was possibly something like are there lessons here for other communities to prevent this, what is the government at the national level going to do about increased gun related violence etc. In short what does this story have to do with national issues.

It seems that while some journalists learn about information management / research, what they should be learning are the media's role in shaping public opinion, and forging a consensual local, regional, and national identity. I would propose some core history, politics and geography courses related to these ideas. The idea that they should forge ahead and seek out the truth is now an outdated, naive, and foolish idea. Instead they should recognize the power they have, hold politicians and other decision makers (the other four estates) accountable, and in an ideal world present all truths. Moreover, they should be accountable to their community, and not pretend that a story locally is of national importance; a scandal on Bay Street / Wall Street / Threadneedle Street is not necessarily of interest three blocks in either direction. Very sad for Mr. Drabinsky (and his victims), but why is that dribble in my national news.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

discovery services

Been trying to get my head around these, and articulate why intuitively they make me very uncomfortable.

I think it is down to two reasons:

1) they think they are clever; they attempt to generate search results based on a variety of data, not just what the searcher may have entered into the search box, including such unhelpful things as a user profile, and what you were searching for the last time. At one level it is unnerving as hell; at another its like holding a conversation with somebody who keeps finishing your sentences, but long before they could possibly know what you're going to say. It is a flaw based on the assumption that you couldn't possibly be researching two completely different topics. Consider that during the week, I'm researching the native role in the French Indian wars, and on the weekend I'm shopping for a used car. So in both cases I may search for Pontiac, and will get gibberish in both cases.

2) Pedagogically, they're asking for trouble. In the tradition of google, they will give answers. In the tradition of google, there is no way of knowing if they are useful answers. Moreover, if for example I'm researching a particular topic as a geographer, I expect my results, the articles I find on the Industrial Revolution, to use a geographical approach, and discuss in some detail the Geography of that event. These are important nuances that a first year student might not get, but a prof could / should challenge the students on. They should have been looking through the geographical literature, a known subset of the whole of global knowledge that the discovery layer would give them. This is actually likely to make the work more difficult than it needs to be for the student at this stage. Like google, it seems to me that such searches should be carried out as a last resort, but with the false ease that they offer, almost certainly they will be used a first resort, produce some results that the researcher can live with, and preclude the more in depth and specialised searching we should encourage at the University level.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Introduction

This blog is mostly professional, but may have some personal notes in it as well, as it effects my professional activities.

Its namesake stems from my PhD research into regional identities in the late eighteenth century in what is now southern Bavaria. For more on this readers are referred to my recent piece in the Journal of Historical Geography.

I'm a reference librarian at the University of Manitoba, and while I continue to have an active interest in Historical Geography of Rupertsland, I spend most of my working days, as a Reference Librarian; over the last decade I've been a Librarian at a large Toronto-based law firm, a united way social service agency, a government lobby group, and an academic library.

You may occasionally encounter other entries in here related to issues I feel passionate about, be it in the Library world, the environment, or Historical Geography.

Friday, June 5, 2009

More on Recycling batteries

turns out local future shop recycles regular household batteries, but it took a lot of work finding that out in the store. I had to ask three different people if that box at the front of the store was only for cell phone batteries or regular batteries like these ones here (had to show them). Shame on them and all others for missed PR stunt. Should be mandatory. Those things are lethal.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Metis history conference

I recently returned from giving a paper at a National Metis History conference in Ottawa.
I think it was reasonably well received, well enough that I ought to consider writing for publication. The general topic has been related to questions that have vexed me more or less since I completed my thesis, perhaps even before, and that is whether medieaval concepts of Jus sanguinis and Jus Soli, have any application in understanding early (read pre-napoleonic) Metis identity, and what if anything can we learn from documenting in Metis society the transition from an aspatial to a spatial world.

It seems that similar ideas are being voiced in some of the recent legal cases, cf. especially R. v. Goodon.

Other interesting highlights were a few papers about the RFC, something that was very new to me, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for that literature. I'm also looking forward to the translation of von Graffenried's TAGEBUCH, due out very soon. In addition to some very interesting papers by senior scholars, some new talent to look out for are Chris Andersen from U of A, and perhaps xxx, who spoke of the legal singularity of the Council of Assiniboia. This deserves further examination for some thoughts I've had regarding the CJA

Friday, May 15, 2009

Battery Recycling

I can't believe in the year 2009, I still can't find anywhere that will recycle regular (read highly toxic) household batteries. I remember as a small child back in the dark ages of the 3rd or maybe 4th modern eco-movement, most stores in Europe had a box where you could deposit batteries.
A few years ago, as an agent of the people of Ontario, I contacted their Ministry of the Environment with this question, and they very helpfully informed me that they send their batteries to a reprocessing plant in New York State (bet they were happy), but that us lowly civilians...well, no real answer there. I later found out there was one bin in city hall in Toronto. To their credit I believe they had two bins at the bottom of the grand staircase for the whole population of the GTA. At least IKEA came to the rescue, as it turned out they had a programme, and they didn't really care where you purchased them. Course doesn't help me in Winnipeg, and I'm not exactly hailing Winnipeg / Ikea at this point as environmental leaders. Shame on the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, seems like a no-brainer.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Have Wikis Run Out of Steam?

The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog
Education-technology news from around the Web


Have Wikis Run Out of Steam?
By Brock Read

Just a few years ago, it seemed nearly everyone, in academe and out, was hailing the wiki as the next great transformative technology — or, at the very least, a tool worth getting a bit excited about. Fast forward to 2009, though, and much of the enthusiastic talk has died down.

So says Renay San Miguel in an article for Linux Insider, and he’s got something of a point. Wikipedia aside, there really aren’t many heavily hyped wiki projects, and social-networking tools like Facebook and Twitter seem to have stolen the spotlight. So Mr. San Miguel wants to know: “Have wikis lost their mojo?”

It’s worth noting that plenty of wiki-friendly concepts and innovations have been absorbed into other formats, as anyone who’s participated in group editing via Google Docs can attest. But there are other reasons that wikis never took the world by storm, according to some analysts. “I always thought they were the nerdiest of the social tools,” says one social-media guru, “and the one that requires the most established … oversight.”

On most college campuses, though, nerdiness is hardly in short supply. So here’s a question: Are wikis finding a place at colleges even if the business world has lost interest? Are professors still talking about what they can do with wikis, or have they moved on to social networks and other Web 2.0 tools? —Brock Read

Wikis

I've found wiki's useful in the past, but I'm frustrated by one that I've been toying with, because it won't let me edit. It has an edit tab, I've selected it, but then I get a nearly blank screen, and nothing I do allows me to even type anything.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Meebo

I've been exploring various 'chat' options. Been trying to keep track of pros and cons of the currently installed system called MEEBO. This is very much a work in progress.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Instant

Can't track

No sign up required

Can't identify


Must be on line


No stats available












You're of course invited to check out the instant messaging feature I've installed on this page.

Monday, May 11, 2009

MLA 2009

I recently attended the MLA conference, in particular several sessions on what to do and not do on web sites. I'll be posting here over the next little while, as thoughts coalesce. Seems my site is more about what not to do. I'll be fixing this over the next little while, but critical comments are always appreciated.

www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/distance_education

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Refworks and Write n' Cite

Why is it that sometimes when I access the write n cite function I get direct access to the refworks login page, and sometimes it asks for a group code.

In the instructions on the UM site, it tells me how to configure the proxy server, so this doesn't happen, but for some reason it doesn't hold. I'm open to solutions.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

RSS feeds

I've begun to re-explore RSS feeds. I started this, probably two years ago, and I admit it had fallen by the way side. It can be very addictive, but a good way to keep up with certain kinds of developments. It is also less obtrusive than e-mails for alerts. I've set up a few alerts from different databases, can keep up with current research in various fields.

For fun stuff, I like lifehacker. Great tips on how to recycle the wierdest stuff and some computer fixes too.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Mobile Technologies Conference

I attended a Mobile Technologies conference at the U of M last week.

There was a fair amount of interesting discussion, some of it new, some of it too new to be useful. A couple of themes seemed to come up in the discussion, and I tried to jot them down before they flew.

Sustainability: There were several presentations that showed how rapidly mobile devices are being accepted by students (and how much slower by instructors). But this brings into question two aspects of sustainability, and here I draw on concepts of locally relevant technologies. Is a new fancy tractor really what a farmer in a poorly developed country actually needs? Yes you can plough many more acres in much less time with less people but oh the humanity... And with mobile technology, some myths to consider -- the paperless office was predicted a long time ago, and it hasn't happened yet. In fact, many people print off relevant e-mail letters (and no doubt some irrelevant ones as well). And these devices contain highly toxic silicon, gold, and other goodies. I'm reminded of an article I read some time ago, I believe it was in Geographic Magazine, that suggested that not only are these machines toxic to dispose of, but the vast majority of the world's silicon for the chips comes from an area in the Congo (couldn't tell you which one), and has been linked to the already hugely corrupt diamond trade (blood for diamonds etc). O.k. this didn't come up in the conference, I've not heard any further about this, but it crosses my mind every time I see somebody with a cell phone.

Diversity: the proliferation of these devices has the potential to create a hugely diverse community, haves and have nots, and yes, with the book, there have always been those that could read (haves) and those that could not (have nots), but we've made huge strides in the last half century or so, to bridge that gap.

Addressing the Divide: one aspect of the divide has apparently been addressed by the University of Bangladesh, and the Bangladeshi government. They have managed to make cell phones and cell phone use reasonably affordable. Canada has light years to go on this front.

learning styles: these vary hugely, and it is only one learning style that can reap the benefits of mobile learning. Personally the best learning I did was either in a tutorial / seminar setting or discussions with colleagues and instructors

There is some spectacular technology out there, and some highly talented instructors I'm sure. For those of us who are not as talented, I beg of you to explore and exploit your imagination and your critical reasoning skills to know when to 'fold up' your cell phones, and resort to the power of your voice to impart important / worthwhile knowledge.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

CBCA Training video

A short training video for Proquest's Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA) Journal Database.
Click to play this short video. A toggle on the bottom right will give you full screen viewing.

courtesy of the ANTS project.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Voice Thread

I've been exploring voice thread, a piece of software that allows you to record comments around an image (or possibly video, using video doodle). I can see this having some benefit to instructors and students. I wonder if anyone else has had any joy with this.

How to search for business materials

click to play this short video. A toggle on the bottom right will give you full screen viewing

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Wired Librarian

Attended presentation last night, all a bit fast, but some great ideas and resources for teaching with web 2.0.

Select here for the wired librarian wiki.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Copyright news

I thought the announcement regarding NFB films was of particular interest.

FROM THE OFFICES OF LESLEY ELLEN HARRIS

Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News

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Vol. 13, No. 2, February 16 2009

ISSN 1489-954X

Contents:



1. Studies, Legislation and Conventions
(Nothing to Report)

2. Legal Cases:
Is Illegal Use of Subscription Web Site a Copyright Violation?
Obama: Hope artist asks for Fair Use Ruling

3. Of Interest:
NFB Makes Films Available Online
Copyright in Africa
Digital Music Report 2009
Some YouTube Videos Get Download Option
Authors Guild Claims Kindle’s Text-to-Speech Violates Copyright

4. Seminars and Publications:
Online Copyright Courses
Book: Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians

__________________________________________________________________

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Copyright, New Media & E-Commerce News is distributed for free by the office of Lesley Ellen Harris. Information contained herein should not be relied upon or considered as legal advice. Copyright 2009 Lesley Ellen Harris. This e-letter may be forwarded, downloaded or reproduced in whole in any print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes provided that you cc: lehletter@copyrightlaws.com.

This e-letter, from 1996 to the present, is archived with Library & Archives Canada at: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/300/copyright/.

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1. STUDIES, LEGISLATION AND CONVENTIONS: (nothing to report)

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2. LEGAL CASES:

IS ILLEGAL USE OF SUBSCRIPTION WEB SITE A COPYRIGHT VIOLATION? – Late 2008, CoStar Realty Information announced that it is suing Dumann Realty for illegally accessing their subscription database using another company’s log-in credentials. CoStar is suing not just for the $5,000 US in fees it would have received had Dumann signed up for the Web site, but also for breach of copyright, claiming $150,000 US for each time that Dumann employees looked at a photo, or searched the database, using the illegal log-in. CoStar has recently filed more than 5 other similar suits.

In another case, the Financial Times is suing Blackstone Equity for copyright violation, claiming that an employee of the firm obtained an individual subscription that the employee then shared with others in the firm. Subscriptions to the FT are either for individuals, or firm-wide licenses based on the estimated number of users at a firm.

OBAMA: HOPE ARTIST ASKS FOR FAIR USE RULING – The Associated Press has contacted Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the iconic Obama: Hope poster, claiming that use of its photograph in the image required a license and credit. Fairey took a 2006 Associated Press photograph of Obama, cropped it, then created a propaganda-style poster which became synonymous with Obama’s campaign. Fairey's attorneys responded by suing in U.S. District Court in New York, asking the court to rule that the artist's work was protected by the fair use doctrine of copyright law.

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3. OF INTEREST:

NFB MAKES FILMS AVAILABLE FREE ONLINE – Canada’s National Film Board (“NFB”) has created an online screening room as part of a $1.3 CDN million project to digitize its collection of historic films. More than 700 films, chosen by a group of filmmakers and curators, are now online, including Neighbours, I’ll Find a Way, Mon Oncle Antoine and The Cat Came Back.

The online screening room, which also includes playlists around themes such as Black History Month, is at http://www.nfb.ca/.

COPYRIGHT IN AFRICA – Researchers in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal and Uganda are working together on the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge Project (ACA2K), which is funded by the IDRC (Canada) and the Shuttleworth Foundation (South Africa). This Project is probing the relationship between national copyright environments and access to knowledge in the eight above-mentioned countries. For more information about this research project, see http://www.aca2k.org. To subscribe to Copyright and A2K Issues, a list serv about copyright with a southern Africa slant, visit:

http://lists.wits.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/copyrightanda2kinfo.

DIGITAL MUSIC REPORT 2009 – The International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (“IFPI”) recently released its Digital Music Report 2009. The report claims that the music industry has transformed its business models, offering consumers an increasing range of new services. The report notes that its biggest challenge remains illegal downloads, which the IFPI claims account for 95% of all music downloads. The 32-page PDF report is at: http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2009.pdf The 2-page PDF Key Statistics is at: http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2009-key-statistics.pdf.

SOME YOUTUBE VIDEOS GET DOWNLOAD OPTION – Some U.S. government videos, including Barack Obama’s weekly addresses, will now have a “Click to download” option on YouTube. Users can download select videos as MP4 files. The option is available for a select number of YouTube videos, sometimes for a fee.

AUTHORS GUILD CLAIMS KINDLE’S TEXT-TO-SPEECH VIOLATES COPYRIGHT – The Authors Guild has written to its members, advising them that the text-to-speech feature on Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader breaches copyright. The Authors Guild is concerned that Amazon has text rights rather than audioboook rights to the authors’ work, and that Kindle e-book sales could harm audiobook sales. Amazon responded by saying that companies that upload e-books can contractually prohibit Amazon from adding audio functionality, and that the computer-generated voice of the text-to-speech feature is no threat to audiobook sales.

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4. SEMINARS AND PUBLICATIONS:

ONLINE COPYRIGHT COURSES– Copyrightlaws.com is offering courses on a variety of copyright topics this winter and spring. The next two courses begin February 23, 2009 and end March 20, 2009:

· Copyright Education: Demystifying Copyright in your Enterprise. This advanced course includes e-mail lessons with a text lecture and an interactive course blog.

· Developing a Copyright Policy (February 23 - March 20, 2009) is an assignment course that includes e-mail lessons with a text lecture, further resources, a blog discussion, and assignments in each lesson. Those who complete the assignments in this course will have a draft copyright policy for their organization.

For further information, see: http://copyrightlawscom.blogspot.com/. Registration is at: www.acteva.com/go/copyright.

Copyrightlaws.com jointly with the Special Library Association/Click University is offering a course on Digital Copyright Issues, from March 9 – March 27, 2009. This is an online course with three Webex/real time discussion sessions. The course covers a broad range of copyright issues relating to librarians using digital content. Non-SLA members may enroll in this course. See: www.clickuniversity.org.

BOOK: LICENSING DIGITAL CONTENT: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR LIBRARIANS - Written by Lesley Ellen Harris, the 2nd edition of this book published by ALA Editions is currently being edited and will be available summer 2009. The book’s blog is now a discussion forum for digital licensing issues. See: www.licensingdigitalcontent.blogspot.com.

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This newsletter is prepared by Copyright Lawyer Lesley Ellen Harris. Lesley is the author of the books Canadian Copyright Law (McGraw-Hill), Digital Property: Currency of the 21st Century (McGraw-Hill), and Licensing Digital Content (ALA Editions). Lesley edits the print newsletter, The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter. Lesley may be reached at: http://copyrightlaws.com.

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This LEH-Letter issue was prepared with the help of Beth Davies.

If you are looking for further topical and practical information about copyright law, obtain a sample copy of the print newsletter, The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter, from http://copyrightlaws.com.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

How do I search for books on Bison

Follow this link from the Virtual Information Commons.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

More on Libguide

I gather you've wrestled with libguides in the past. I was introduced to them just last month, and I'd like to give it a go. I desperately need something flashier for the Off-Campus Students, but would also like to put something together for social work (my other constituency). The latter is a clean slate, and I'd like to get going with that first.


I have a few questions.
Is there a cost, and if free, what's the catch (advertising, valuable information stored off-site in a foreign country etc)?
In your experience is this best managed by the individual librarian, or by committee, for standardisation, ease of use? What has been the student response?
How's it different from a blog? I've been trying to put one together, but I don't like it at all. It is very limiting in so many ways.
learning curve? Time.
does it have usage stats collecting capabilities?
If I think of others, I'll let you know.