The Professor's Notes

Greetings once again class. Those of you that know me personally (well, at least know me in person academically) will know I am a stickler for survey research being done correctly, and that correctly done surveys should be interpreted in the narrow way in which they are constructed. Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while may remember that I have a few times taken to task other sites, studies, or blogs, that have mis-represented information gathered from surveys (try here and here), or for that matter have just run roughshod over facts (here, and here) reaching conclusions simply from the long extension of their arm rather than the close reliance of reality (yeah-long way of saying they had to stretch to get there!)

Imagine my joy when I saw that one of my favorites blogs, the Language Log, decided to tackle another mis-reported survey. Of course, this one is particularly juicy since the log-ers are chastising the press for getting it wrong in reporting about how stupid the American people are. Perhaps the best point made is after listing the question asking people essentially to name the freedoms of the first amendment. In critiquing the analysis they write: “If you’re hip to the rhetoric of survey spin, you’ll guess at this point that the survey asked people to enumerate first-amendment rights by free recall.”
Yup, they could stop there, but they don’t! They then go on to mention how challenging that sort of question is. Asking someone to list off something very specific without any hints is quite difficult. Remember essay questions in school? The dreaded “What are 3 of the freedoms identified in the First Amendment, and explain the circumstances that caused their specific addition to the Bill of Rights?” (Actually, when you think about it, this particular essay question is replete with hints!)

Cheers for the Language Log!
Now, for what for me was truly ironic. Many of you remember the gracious treatment I received from the (apparent) owner of the A Liberal Dose blog (go back if you wish and read his witty comments, if your foul language detector is appropriately in place!) Well, not only is the author of that blog a great distorter of facts (or perhaps, just a tremendous prevaricator) he is a great distorter of images. To see what I am writing about, just go see the posting for Memorial Day weekend. As they say, context is everything. In this instance, we are provided a caption, and a picture of the President smiling. Of course, we are to quickly conclude the President may well have expressed deep remorse but by his smile, he must not have “meant it.” Hmmmm… Was the picture taken at the same time as the statement? (or even within seconds, or a minute?) Was the picture taken before the speech began? Who was the President looking at while smiling? (In the interest of fairness, this is the same sort of gross mis-representation that Rush Limbaugh did with the video of President Clinton laughing when leaving following the funeral of his former Secretary of Transportation. Of course, in THAT case the clip showed Clinton crying, laughing and then crying again, in the span of 10 seconds…)
As you can see, the picture doesn’t actually convey anything other than a man who can, at times, be quite “warm” most likely to a person in the crowd. It is mis-representations like this that lead one to conclude that “A Liberal Dose” is a person with an agenda, and perhaps not much else.
But that’s alright.
To steal from an old “Greyhound Busline” commercial “Just relax, and leave the thinking to us!”
The Prof

Sometimes I just have to put a weblink out there, like this one:

Gospel Music Podcast

Charles and Matt Brady have a website, and a podcast. Interesting…

Okay, so here are two interesting tech items, and an interesting tech story thrown in for fun.
First, the “Star Trek Communicator” that we all have known and loved is making it’s “debut.” I suppose this is a niche’ market, and only (or perhaps, mostly) those daring a brave souls who seek out new life at Trek Conventions will purchase them.
Second–and far more important in my mind is my recommendation for a piece of software I have come to love. Have you seen those panoramic photos, stitched together from several separate photos, and wished you had the skill, the patience, and the photoshop to do that? Or tried the pan-stitch software that came with your new camera, only to be disappointed with the quality, or the linearity, or other limitations? Search no more! Start creating your own Panaoramic photographs using Autostitch. This software is apparently the product of an academic effort, designed to find better ways of automating the stitching process. I have used it quite often, and as many would guess, most often for photographs up at the lake.
What to do with these photographs? Certainly, if you have the right Epson or HP wide-format printers you can print them at home, but I recommend checking out your local Copier Store such as Kinko’s, or check out the many online companies such as Shutterfly, Adoramapix, or even WalMart. Or for those of you that haven’t yet discovered the joys of Picasa by Google, download it, and see not only how easy it is to order your panoramic print online from any number of places, but see how simple and easy they have made editing any photograph.
Finally, the funny story: Many of us have iPods, and not everyone can keep up with ther perverbial Jones’ but that apparently doesn’t deter apple from pushing for iPod Envy. As this story at the “Crazy Apple Rumors Site” tells it, Apple at first thought about paying college students to look down their noses at fellow students with obsolete (read, “soooo last generation”) iPods. My favorite lines?

“That is categorically false,” a visibly angry Schiller said. “We never paid anyone to do that.

“We were going to, but then we realized we didn’t have to. They were already doing it for free.”

So there ya have it, my tips, pointers, and story for the day.
Enjoy!-

Those that follow my comments here, and on other blogs, know that I at times wage a battle of logic against the illogic of the left. In fact, I find it amusing that I am so often called names, when I employ their tactics against themselves (for reference to this, go read some of the comment battles at The Lobby.)

One of the on-going battles from the left is the sense that Americans are outraged at the government’s apparent monitoring of our lives. The self-absorbed left somehow believes that the US government is actually so interested in the mundane aspects of our daily lives that they listen to us, and track information about us, and our “normal” conversations. The left seems to think that most Americans would rise up against such government monitoring, even though the monitoring is done in the interest of national security, and thus, the safety of our populace.
Well, I for one wouldn’t want to extrapolate too far, or draw too many generalizable conclusions about these views from just one election, but I do find the situation in Philadelphia interesting. Today, Tuesday, 16 May 2006, Pennsylvania (my once and future home) held their primary elections. While there were many outcomes that may take the headlines, including the ouster of several incumbents, the silent yet critical news story may be about the referendum. Yes, THE referendum. The Associated Press ran a story (found at mcall.com) that said:

As police warn of a rising tide of gun violence, voters this week will get a chance to weigh in on whether Philadelphia should become the next big city to add public surveillance cameras to its crime-fighting arsenal.

A referendum on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary will ask voters whether they think the city’s charter should be amended to allow officials to use video surveillance to ”fight crime and violence” in a way that ”protects civil liberties and legitimate privacy interests.”

As of this moment, reports are that the city, a city (like so many other cities around the nation) dominated by the left and the Democrats, has voted overwhelmingly to allow video surveillance.
The outcome, as listed at Phlly.com, at this time, is:
Referendum – Video Surveillance – Ballot Issue
Philadelphia, 1543 of 1681 Precincts Reporting – 91.79%

Name Votes Pct Yes 62,518 79.12   No 16,498 20.88

Note, this is with nearly 92% of the votes counted. Assuming every remaining vote goes against the ballot, those rougly 8,000 votes wouldn’t be enough to stop it.
Yes, Philiadelphia has voted to allow their government to monitor their activities, and record them, to provide a sense of security. They are sacrificing security over privacy and personal rights.
Actually, I would be more opposed to this, than even the NSA listening. Partly because of my libertarian leanings, but also because a local law enforcement officer is more likely to have personal connections with the individuals monitored, and thus the potential is far greater for personal malfeasance.
Yup. The left likes to whine and complain about the Republicans and the Right. They like to scream about individual rights, but put their own lives at risk and they give up those rights faster than Kennedy grabs a whisky bottle.

Language Log: Is Mark Steyn guilty of plagiarism?

Those who know me, know my record with plagiarists. I post this link to the Language Log, in an attempt to warn all, students and others, about the problems of plagiarism, and most importantly, about the broader impact it has, beyond the classroom.

The Pro

Many of you, dear students, won’t know what MANPADS is, and that is quite understandable. It is defined as a “Man-portable Air Defense System.” That obviously includes such systems as Stinger missiles. Interestingly, we as a nation are now more concerned about them as an attack rather than a defense, system. Misnomer aside, this article “ATA Position: Counter MANPADS Deployment” outlines the case from the position of the Air Transport Association.

“Among the terrorist threats we are confronting, the risk of a MANPADS attack on a commercial airliner is an extremely serious concern. So too, however, are threats from other types of weapons and tactics that might be utilized by those intent on harming our nation by attacking our aviation system. Therefore, it is critically important in confronting all of these threats that we be guided by the best intelligence and law enforcement information available. With this information, we can apply a systematic risk management program to determine how to best marshal available resources.”

The article outlines the case for MANPADS protection, but also lists a series of questions that must be addressed before any real action can be taken to protect civil travel from such threats. The questions are listed at the end of the article, and I encourage all of you to go read them. They are thoughtful and I believe useful in helping to frame a realistic debate on the benefits, approaches, and effectiveness of MANPADS defense. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the threats to our commercial air system. How much do you think we should spend on systems like these? Are you willing to pay more for your airline ticket for this level of safety? And what is your answer to the liability question?

Enjoy!

Apple Matters | Review: ThinkFree Office Online (beta)

I do believe we may have found a major contender in the online office application category.

Do any of you want to try this, and report back?

The Prof

The blog, Pressing the Flesh has commented on the opinion poll showing that “35% of those responding believe that their vote for American Idol counts as much or MORE than their vote for a U.S. Presidential election. ” According to this blogger, this explains “what’s wrong with the American voting public” and “why you have such incompetent representatives in the White House and Congress.”
I would disagree. This explains that only 1/3 of the American population has some (small) grasp on the concept of percentage contribution to the total. It would seem to me that fewer people would actually vote on American idol than would in a national election, so, if you evaluate your individual voice (vote) as simply one vote in a vast, “virtually” infinite, sea of votes cast, then perhaps one would be left with the sense that their vote is “worth less” (much less) than the votes cast in a much smaller voting population.
Of course, it is the aggregration of the votes that matters, and every vote is required to get to that aggregate figure, but in “most” presidential elections, the marginal benefit of a single vote is miniscule.
For instance, if you are having a local run-off for school board, and you happen to live in a nice, small town, your one vote out of the 30 cast can be significant. It’s 1/30th of all the votes cast, and one can see how important that one vote can be. On the othe hand, in 2004, there were over <a xhref=”http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2004/popular_vote.html” mce_href=”http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2004/popular_vote.html”>122 million votes cast </a> which would make one think that their individual vote is worth considerably less than it was in the election for the school board.
In point of fact, the school board candidates probably spend far more time, and would be willing to listen to that one voter for far longer, than any single voter’s ability to talk with any Presidential Candidate.
This is, actually, one of the great paradoxes of voting. The individual vote is essentially worthless, however, as part of the aggregate, contributes to the mass of votes required to achieve a victory.
I welcome your thoughts on this. Do you feel your vote doesn’t count? How does one overcome the sense that my vote, counting for only 1/122,000,000 of the total, carries meaning and weight?