You Tube video on UCF cheating scandal opens debate on Academic Integrity

The November 1 lecture by Professor Richard Quinn of the University of Central Florida Business School has become a sensation on You Tube, opening a discussion of plagiarism and cheating in Academia.  When faced with the knowledge that up to 1/3 of his class of 600+students cheated, the  Professor uses his class time to address the issue. His lecture is both methodical and passionate. Among the many issues that are raised with this scandal is the use of test banks in courses.

What is also interesting is the students who feel unfairly treated by the accusation. Check out the My Fox Orlando piece  concerning one of student’s claim of innocence. Also the comments below the story and video are eye opening. For the complete lecture click below.

Professor Quinn’s Lecture on You Tube

What is the Future of Media?

Our colleagues at the Graduate Center have put together an exciting program for this evening concerning future of media.

What Is the Future of the Media?

This event will feature Tina Brown, Andrew Sullivan, and Jeff Jarvis in conversation about the future of the media, and the way in which electronic publishing and the Internet, as a virtual space, are shaping the dissemination of the news and information in the world. Click the Online Box Office icon above to purchase tickets or call 212-868-4444. No surcharge! To join the Graduate Center’s Membership Program and receive an instant 25% discount code, visit www.gc.cuny.edu/events/membership.htm.

Date:

November 8, 2010

Time:

7:00 PM

College:

CUNY Graduate Center

Address:

365 Fifth Avenue
Manhattan

Building:

The Graduate Center

Room:

Proshansky Auditorium

Phone:

212-868-4444

Website:

http://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/public_programs.htm

Admission:

$20, Members $15

Much thanks to  This Week at CUNY for the above information.

Will Newsweek Survive?

The recent sale of Newsweek magazine for $1 (along with much debt) to Sidney Harman certainly does not seem to bode well for the future of the weekly news magazine. The sale of the magazine, along with the painful selecting of an editor and the behind the scene drama between Harman and Barry Diller is the focus of New York Magazine‘s article Newsboy.  Writer Steve Fishman does a great job dissecting the deal and leaves us wondering the long term prognosis for the magazine and whether it is to regain its former glory or be a vanity project of a 92 year old tycoon.

We have no secrets… We tell each other everything…

The  Carly Simon song on secrets played in my head while reading the article in Newsweek titled Privacy is Dead. Yes, we all have heard that an amazing amount of data is available online about individuals, however the extent and how it is being misused is staggering. Writer Jessica Bennett hired the firm Reputation Defender to ‘mine’ information on her. Within 30 minutes they had her Social Security number, within 2 hours they knew her home address, her body type and health status.

What is even more frightening is how the data is interpreted, and what it will mean in the near future. The use of data to create a credit score is really the most disturbing part of the article.

Oh what a circus, oh what a show….

Lost in all the feel good coverage of the amazing rescue of the miners in Chile, is the behavior of the Media at the site.  From the excessive coverage to the hair pulling, tent trampling conclusion (I was reminded of the conclusion of Nathanael West’s ‘The Day of the Locust’) to the now cruel post-rescue coverage, the media has not been on its best behavior.

Rory Carroll of the Guardian discusses the media’s behavior in Chile, including the recent tabloid coverage that the 33 now face, in his article   “How the media in Chile helped focus the eyes of the world on the miners.”

John Stewart’s Daily Show clip on the Media Coverage is priceless!

Blogs and the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Controversy

The controversy over building a mosque in Lower Manhattan certainly has become Media feeding frenzy. How did this issue develop?  Steve Rendall and Alex Kane chart the development of this cyberstorm on FAIR‘s website. The Media’s Construction of the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ is an interesting time line on how news explodes via the Internet.

China continues to battle the Internet

The New York Times today reported a new phase in China’s Censorship of the Internet. In China Requires Censorship Software on new PCs, Andrew Jacobs reports that a new directive from the Chinese Government requires all new computers to filter pornography and ‘unhealthy information’. The software called Green Dam, is China’s latest attempt to control the 300 million Internet users in China.

Did NBC and other Media outlets have an obligation to show the Virginia Tech Tape?

The latest firestorm to effect the Media is the broadcasting of the materials sent to NBC from the Virginia Tech Killer, Cho Seung-Hui.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2UYsRG0-fw

Yahoo! News has published Second-guessing on use of Cho pictures by David Bauder giving a enlightening spin on the ethical issues. City Journal has also published a strong opinion piece, in Mass Murder, Martyrdom, and the Media
by Nicole Gelinas. What do you think, should the media outlets have published the video, or was it an abuse of public trust.

Imus, Imus, Imus.

imus1.jpg Well what could we possibly say about this topic that has not already been said! The issues that Don Imus, his comment and his dismissals have raised, as they pertain to the Media, are staggering. FAIR in the essay, Rallying Around Their Racist Friend asks some interesting questions of the Media and their relationship with Imus. At Accuracy In Media, the opinions are more conservative–but just as controversial. Another interesting player in this quagmire is Media Matters for America , a watchgroup that pushed the story into the limelight.

Newsweek, who’s journalists admit to having a close working relationship with Imus, discuss the Shock Jock and his place in the Media in a series of articles listed below:

Imus: Race, Power and the Media

Cose: What will we learn?

Rugters Team Stands Tall

Fineman: Something In (And On) the Air

Even the CCNY’s The Campus has covered the story with the CCNY Community voicing their opinions in Imus Spoke, Now It’s Our Turn. Arthur Banton’s piece, Imus Opinion– Redefining Racial Epithets is sure to stir some controversy, as will Kenroy Cherrington’s piece Imus Opinion–Overblown .

So what do you think?

So are you a Digital Native, or a Digital Immigrant?

How do you use digital technology? Marc Prensky in his article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2  opened a discussion on the way generations ‘see’ the digital world. His philosophy and conclusions are some what controversial, so check them out and decide if you think his points are valid. Feel free to post here your thoughts.

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