Da UnaFinestraSulMondo.
Van den Brande, a Belgian centre-right politician who yesterday (10 February) finished his mandate as CoR president, believes that structural funds are a showcase for what the EU does best, and should be maintained at their current budget levels.
However, they must be reformed to be more flexible, eschewing a "one-size-fits-all" approach, and more importantly they must be intimately linked to the overall EU 2020 strategy, which will determine the EU's growth and employment blueprint for the coming decade.
Mason Posner is a professor of Biology at Ashland University in Ohio. He also blogs on A Fish Eye View (though I notice he did not update it in a while). About a year ago, and inspired by some discussions emanating from ScienceOnline'09, he decided to try using blogs in his teaching. He did it last spring. And he is doing it again this spring.
You can check out his Marine Biology Course class blog, where he and the students are all posting in one place.
But also check out his Senior Capstone course in Biology and its class blog - he is the only one blogging there - the students are required to start and run their own blogs.
Now look at the Class Blogroll on the margin - take a look at last year's (2009) student blogs - wonderful writing on all of them, good stuff. But! One of them is already deleted. There are four other blogs that stopped posting around early May of last year, probably at the time the course ended. Only one of the blogs is still running today. Why did they stop?
Now check out this year's blogs - very, very nice stuff: The Difference between Ignorance and Apathy, SexyScience, Thirsty Pandas and Successors of Solomon. Lovely blogs. But will they last past May?
Now, you may remember a similar experiment at Duke - see this and this and especially experiences of Erica Tsai who ran the program. Why did all the Duke student blogs end once the class was over?
There is always a lot of chatter online (see the most recent commentary about a Pew study here, here, here and here) about teens and college students not blogging. No, the kids are not naturally Web-savvy - they also need to learn.
They use Twitter much more than the stats usually show, but mostly keep their profiles private and only talk to each other. They use it instead of texting because it is cheaper and platform-agnostic. Of course, they are all on Facebook (or MySpace, depending on socio-economic status), where they also interact with each other. The artistically inclined may connect with each other on DeviantArt. And yes, there are many who blog (though they may have predominantly chosen a more social blogging platform like LiveJournal).
All of the above are social uses, which is quite age-appropriate. Some of them (certainly not all) will, just like their elders, pick up blogging later, when they find a need to express themselves in long-form writing. Teaching them how to blog is part of their education, or at least should be.
But none of this really applies to the cases I started this post with - these are young people who have been taught how to blog, have done it well, probably got positive feedback for it from the instructor and peers, and obviously have something to say. So, why do they quit?
Is it because they see it as homework? Something that needs to be done for class, and can be stopped once the final grades are in?
Or is it because all the feedback they get comes only from the instructor and classmates? The class is a small community which formally and automatically dissolves the moment the semester is over. If the community is gone, who are you writing for?
Would they continue blogging if they felt they were a part of a larger community and, more importantly, a continuous community, one that has no expiration date? If we all sent them traffic by linking to their posts from our blogs, Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook etc., would they see that kind of feedback as a motivation to keep writing? If we posted comments on their blogs, would they feel like members of a broader community and would gladly continue engaging with it?
The same goes for even younger bloggers. Duke summer program had high schoolers blogging as well. How about Miss Baker's students? Would comments on their posts be felt as intrusive or would they be seen as welcoming to a broader community and motivating to keep writing?
Are one-off events, e.g., attendance at ScienceOnline conferences, sufficient to give students enough momentum to continue long-term?
Thoughts?
Read the comments on this post...
The document will be presented by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, commissioner for research, innovation and science, and Antonio Tajani, commissioner for industry and entrepreneurship, on 3 March.
It is likely to reflect much of the thinking that has gone into the European innovation action plan – which Tajani's services have been working on – while incorporating the views of Geoghegan-Quinn's research directorate.
The electric vehicle must become a reality in Europe, Spain's Industry Minister Miguel Sebastián said on 9 February in San Sebastian (Basque Country, Spain) following the informal meeting of the Competitive Council that focused on the electric vehicle and its role in Europe.
'It is a good day for European industry,' Minister Sebastián told journalists following the first two of three working sessions of the European delegations on the electric vehicle.
The unprecedented crisis that hit Europe recently further underlines the need for European institutions, supported by the Commission, to lead a common strategy on electric vehicles. The electric vehicle offers a win-win situation for all, and in particular for industry, energy, environment and technology.
Europeans must work together to cement this commitment because it 'is a winning hand', Minister Sebastián remarked.
The introduction of the electric vehicle to European industry adds value, will bring new technologies to the forefront and generate state-of-the-art activities. In effect, it would give European exports a major boost, jobs would be created, there would be better fuel efficiency and energy savings, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions would be curbed.
'It is good for people's pockets, good for European income and employment, good for Europe as a whole, and it will be good for the planet from an environmental perspective,' the Spanish official explained.
'From our point of view, EU institutions should lead the introduction of the electric vehicle,' he said, adding that a common strategy should be created by the Commission with extensive feedback given by the EU Member States. Essential to bringing forth this strategy is strong discussion between Europeans that will help them meet the challenges that have emerged in this sector.
Minister Sebastián believes the EU institutions and Member States will support this initiative, with the common strategy to be adopted in mid spring. Germany has already expressed its support for the initiative.
Moreover, citing his French counterpart, Christian Estrosi, Mr Sebastián said the electric vehicle 'is essential' and Europeans must work on 'it together in a coordinated way'.
The sessions brought together government officials with stakeholders and representatives from the information and communication technologies (ICT), automotive and energy sectors.
Speaking to participants at the meeting, Dr Dieter Zetsche, president of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) and chief executive of German carmaker Daimler AG, remarked that the entire European automotive industry is crucial for both the regional economy and employment.
This industry provides 2.2 million direct jobs and indirect employment for almost 10 million families, he said.
Essentially, the automotive industry can provide the answers that Europe needs, Dr Zetsche underlined, adding that mobility fuels economic growth and social development.
The bottom line is that coordinated collaboration of everyone involved would help put electric vehicles at the top of the game in Europe and abroad.
Quality validation date:
La formazione online per i professionisti del lavoro. Ciclo di sette lezioni tenute dal professor Pietro Ichino
Il Sole 24 ORE presenta La formazione on line per i professionisti del Lavoro: sette video lezioni, ciascuno della durata di due ore, tenute dal Professor Pietro Ichino. Lo scopo del corso è quello di offrire, in riferimento ad alcuni snodi cruciali della materia lavoristica, una chiave di lettura aggiornata dei cambiamenti in atto e delle prospettive, arricchita dal contributo che al discorso giuridico possono dare le altre scienze sociali. l ciclo di lezioni è destinato a Direttori del personale, Responsabili risorse umane, Responsabili relazioni sindacali, Avvocati giuslavoristi, Consulenti del lavoro. I temi affrontati: Hire your best employer! Perché l'Italia è ultima nella graduatoria europea per capacità di intercettare gli investimenti stranieri? Cosa impedisce ai lavoratori italiani di scegliere per sé il meglio dell'imprenditoria mondiale? Centralizzazione e decentramento nel sistema di relazioni industriali Cosa sta "bollendo in pentola" tra Confindustria e sindacati? Il quadro attuale e le prospettive di riforma in tema di rappresentanza sindacale in azienda e di struttura della contrattazione collettiva. La questione del precariato - 1) le cause e i rimedi Miti e realtà del lavoro precario La strategia del Libr/o Bianco del 2001: subordinazione e autonomia prima e dopo la legge Biagi. Due possibili sviluppi diversi: "Statuto dei lavori" e "contratto unico". La questione del precariato - 2) come dare stabilità senza generare esclusione e dualismo Un approccio di law and economics al giustificato motivo oggettivo di licenziamento e di apposizione del termine al contratto. La tecnica del firing cost per una tutela modulata della stabilità applicabile a tutti.Lavoro e non lavoro - 1) il debito contrattuale del lavoratore Tre nozioni che nel tessuto post-industriale richiedono di essere definite meglio: diligenza, scarso rendimento, mobilità professionale.Lavoro e non lavoro - 2) Motivazione, incentivazione e mobbing Le nuove frontiere della responsabilità del datore di lavoro pubblico e privato per la salute psichica dei propri dipendenti. Le tecniche di prevenzione suggerite dalla psichiatria e dalla scuola sistemica.Lavoro e non lavoro - 3) la questione dell'assenteismo abusivo Aziende e amministrazioni pubbliche sono davvero inermi contro le certificazioni compiacenti e chi ne approfitta? Vecchi e nuovi strumenti giuridici disponibili contro la simulazione della malattia. Ciascuna lezione, disponibile fino al 31/12/2008, è accompagnata da slides riassuntive e da documentazione tratta dalla banca dati UnicoLavoroIl ciclo di lezioni è valido ai fini della formazione continua obbligatoria dei Consulenti del lavoro, clicca qui per verificare gli ordini che hanno già aderito.Pietro Ichino, avvocato giuslavorista, dal 1991 è professore ordinario di diritto del lavoro presso l'Università Statale di Milano. E', inoltre, giornalista pubblicista dal 1997 collabora come editorialista con Il Corriere della Sera. E' autore di numerosi saggi, monografie, libri e articoli di diritto del lavoro e sindacale. Il prodotto è disponibile in tre modalità: - monoutenza: prezzo di listino euro 360,00 (IVA inclusa) - 3 utenti: prezzo di listino euro 600,00 (IVA inclusa) - 6 utenti: prezzo di listino euro 960,00 (IVA inclusa) OFFERTA LANCIO - monoutenza: euro 300,00 (IVA inclusa) anziché euro 360,00 - 3 utenti: euro 540,00 (IVA inclusa) anziché euro 600,00, costo a utenza euro 180,00 - 6 utenti: euro 900 (IVA inclusa) anziché euro 960,00, costo a utenza euro 150,00Sei abbonato alla Banca Dati UnicoLavoro? Contatta subito il tua agente di zona per conoscere le offerte a te riservate, in qualità di abbonato, via e-mail: servizioclienti.bdprofessionali@ilsole24ore.com o via fax al numero: (02 o 06) 3022.5450
China's top universities could soon rival Oxford, Cambridge and the Ivy League, the president of Yale University has warned.
(The full text of this article is available free)
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ScienceOnline2010 is starting in three days! If you are not excited yet....well, I think you should be! And perhaps I can help you....with this post.
First, see the complete list of attendees, or, if you want more details about everyone, browse through these introductory posts. It is always good to know more about people you are about to spend two or three days with....
Then, check out the Program to see which session in each time-slot you want to participate in. Go to individual session pages right now and join in the discussions, or ask questions. Start shaping the discussion online before it even starts offline.
This is an Unconference, meant to be highly participatory. The point of the meeting is to have conversations. The sessions' titles are meant to be topics for conversations, not lectures. The session moderators are supposed to keep the room engaged and on topic, not to drone on and on in a lecture. And then, there are all those informal conversations that happen in the hallways, and during additional events, and in the hotel lobby and at the hotel bar.....
What to do if you will not be physically present but want to follow? Graham Steel has some ideas, but there are plenty of ways to follow, and to some extent participate in the meeting.
This is an Unconference also in the sense that it is open. Not just that we allow, we actively encourage participants to cover the meeting online - not just sessions, but everything that happens there. The participants are encouraged to livetweet the meeting, to discuss it in various online places like FriendFeed and Facebook, and to blog about it: either liveblog, or a series of blog posts afterwards, or one big summary post at the end.
So, follow our official Twitter account, follow the #scio10 hashtag on Twitter, and follow the Twitter List that aggregates all the participants. Subscribe to our FriendFeed room and our Facebook event. A lot of coverage will also be found on the Science In The Triangle site and blog.
All (except one) sessions will be recorded and the videos posted on the scienceinthetriangle YouTube channel. You can also search YouTube for the #scio10 hashtag later on.
The sessions in rooms D and E will also be livestreamed on The RTP stream - there are chatrooms on the side: use them to discuss in real time. We will have assigned "room monitors" who will check the chatrooms and, if they see an interesting question or comment, inject them into the real-world conversation in the room.
Likewise, these same sessions (in rooms D and E) will be livestremed into SecondLife on the RTP Island. Again, we will have someone keep an eye on the conversations there and may read out a good question out loud into the room.
We are also encouraging participants to make photographic, audio and video recordings of various events - not just sessions, but hallway conversations and other events. We hope they will interview each other. And then post all those audio and video files online and tag them all with #scio10 hashtag for easy search. We will collect everything from anywhere on the Web with that tag in one place - check the wiki (and our other communication channels) for more information when the meeting starts.
One way to warm up and get excited for the conference is to read some blog and media coverage from the previous years. Check out the collected links of coverage of the 2007 meeting, the 2008 meeting and the 2009 meeting. Of course, the 2010 meeting has already generated quite a lot of coverage (this time in reverse-chronological order) and we expect much more, so try to catch up (and add to it on your own blogs).
Finally, some of the past participants revealed much more about themselves in a series of interviews I conducted with them over the past two years. Many of them will be here again this year/week (marked with an asterisk) so you can see what they had to say about themselves, their science/Web projects, and about the conference itself:
The 2008 meeting:
Let The Beagle sail: Interview with Karen James*
An Island In the Mountains: Interview with James Hrynyshyn*
Bloggers....In.....Spaaaaace! Interview with Talia Page
What He Says! Interview with Deepak Singh*
Per Holothuroidea Ad Astra: Interview with Sheril Kirshenbaum*
How was it for you? Interview with Graham Steel
Buffy and C.S.I in the Writing Lab: Interview with Jennifer Ouelette*
From Viruses to Viral Video: Interview with Anna Kushnir*
Say 'Hi' if you see him running - Interview with Dave Munger*
A Different Kind of Handshake: Interview with Vanessa Woods*
Visualize This! Interview with Moshe Pritsker
From the trenches of Open Access: Interview with Hemai Parthasarathy
Openness is Essential Freedom: Interview with Vedran Vucic
FairerScience in an Unfair World: Interview with Patricia Campbell
Our Seed Overlord: Interview with Virginia Hughes
The mite hunting a dinosaur that could not catch a dog: Interview with Brian Switek*
The Sirenian Call? Interview with Jennifer Jacquet
Getting Publishing up to Speed: Interview with Bill Hooker*
Riding the Dinosaurs toward Science Literacy: Interview with Gabrielle Lyon
Survivorman! Interview with Aaron Rowe*
Librarians have been doing it for a hundred years! Interview with Christina Pikas*
Soapbox for Puzzle-Solving: Interview with Tom Levenson*
PLoS, it rhymes with floss: Interview with Liz Allen
Isopods At The Gate: Interview with Kevin Zelnio*
The Future is Here and it is Bright: Interview with Anne-Marie Hodge*
The Warlord in the Library: Interview with John Dupuis*
Kids with 'Dr' in front of their names: Interview with Ryan Somma*
The Cool Aunt of the scienceblogging community: Interview with Janet Stemwedel*
One of a Mind: Interview with Shelley Batts
Ebola, for your kids! Interview with Tara Smith
Cutting-edge Communication at Duke: Interview with Karl Leif Bates*
Making the Data Public: Interview With Xan Gregg*
Watch Your Shoes! Interview with Suzanne Franks*
Guarding the Coral Reefs like a Moray Eel: Interview with Rick MacPherson*
Start Them Early: Interview with Karen Ventii*
Think of a Dust-Free Keypad: Interview with Rose Reis
Turning the Tables on Me: Interview on the Confessions of a Science Librarian*
Shortly After Hell Freezes Over: Interview with Elisabeth Montegna*
Communicating Genomics: Interview with Kendall Morgan
Removing the Bricks from the Classroom Walls: Interview with David Warlick
Doing science publicly: Interview with Jean-Claude Bradley*
The 2009 meeting:
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Sol Lederman*
ScienceOnline'09 - Interview with Greg Laden*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with SciCurious*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Peter Lipson*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Glendon Mellow*
ScienceOnline'09 - Interview with GG aka Dr.SkySkull*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Betul Kacar Arslan*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Eva Amsen
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with GrrrlScientist
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Miriam Goldstein*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Katherine Haxton
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Stephanie Zvan*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Stacy Baker*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Bob O'Hara
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Djordje Jeremic*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Erica Tsai
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Elissa Hoffman
ScienceOnline'09 - Interview with Henry Gee*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Sam Dupuis*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Russ Campbell*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Danica Radovanovic*
Clock Interview: John Hogenesch - genes, clocks, Web and ScienceOnline'09*
ScienceOnline'09: Interview with Bjoern Brembs
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Erin Cline Davis
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Carlos Hotta
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Danielle Lee
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Victor Henning
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with John Wilbanks
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Kevin Emamy*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Arikia Millikan*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Tatjana Jovanovic-Grove*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Blake Stacey*
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Daniel Brown
ScienceOnline'09 - interview with Christian Casper
ScienceOnline09 - an interview with Cameron Neylon*
Caryn Shechtman: A Blogger Success Story (an interview with Yours Truly)*
Consumer & Retail Summit
Appuntamento dedicato al mondo del Retail e della grande distribuzione con confronti nazionali e inernazionali sul comparto e sulle strategie di vendita e fidelizzazione dei consumatori La partecipazione è gratuita. Guarda il sito dell'edizione precedente Per informazioni sui contenuti dell'evento, scrivere a: silvia.tonini@ilsole24ore.comPer informazioni sulle modalità di sponsorizzazione, scrivere a:mirella.gottini@ilsole24ore.com.
Published Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:58 CET:
