Dave Murphy’s Student Resources Blog
Americans use multiple resources when searching for specific answers. The traditional sources, libraries and librarians, are still common alternatives, even with the ubiquitous availability of internet access.
A number of students have commented on the amount of reading that is required in our graduate business program. I agree, there is quite a bit of reading, sometimes well over 1,000 pages of densely-packed text in a single course.
I suggest that you read Peter Kump’s book, Breakthrough Rapid Reading. I have been recommending this book to students for many years, and I receive more hugs of thank you at commencements for having made this recommendation than I receive for my teaching abilities. ;-(
Personal exposure and experience with using any technology is a definite asset; however, it is not by any means a prerequisite in the business environment. There are many technologies that we use on a daily basis without understanding how to create the technology. Good examples are our automobiles, televisions, and digital video recorders.
In general, I judge that you, students, are able to demonstrate a clear command of the course content. Your class discussions are well focused, and your individual formal papers are prepared in a manner that coveys your comprehension the details of each week’s material.
However, in reading many assignments, I have noticed a pattern in your writing.
Creating a geographically-flexible workspace* has always been my dream. It took me ten years from the time that I first added this goal to my business plan to finally implement it. Since April 1, 2000, I have been working from a home office, a suite of 1,400 square feet that includes a private conference and reading room, office space, and a work room with a long bench upon which I can repair computers and assemble books. I even have my own kitchen and lavatory. If my refrigerator were a little larger, I could comfortably live here!
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), the old-style wireline telephone connection that was installed in our parents’ houses is quickly being replaced by Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service, which connects voice telephone calls through the always-on broadband connections that about half of Americans have in their homes.
You probably have seen the advertisements for VOIP (also called digital voice) on television; however, the company’s that advertise overcharge for their services. I suggest that you consider purchasing VOIP from other providers, one of whom sells the service at less than 10 percent of the cost of the television advertisers!
It’s a tough question, deciding what is common knowledge and what requires attribution (citation/reference in APA format).
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
Being away does not mean being gone.
When I originally wrote this article, I was visiting one of my favorite vacation spots in the United States: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I am shocked that a paucity of public life line networks the coffee shop down the road from our resort offers free wireless Internet service and the sundry store on the other side of the shopping doubles as an Internet café, selling access for $6.00 a day.
Always on is not always good.
Reliance on digital technology creates a sense of emphasis on keeping busy and productive. The internet and the burgeoning world of e-business allow both geographic and chronologic flexibility. Word, both commercial and personal, may be attended with greater individual flexibility than ever before. No longer are many white collar professional—am I am not sure that this term is any longer appropriate, as casual dress is now encouraged during the entire work week—required to complete work at the corporate office.
Skills not practiced are lost.
I am not sure that most retail associates would be able to calculate the correct change for a $37.63 charge if the customer presented a $100 bill. Retail clerks rely on the cash register to calculate the sales tax and change that should be returned to the customer. Some registers even suggest alternative combinations of bills and coins to hand to the customer so that the proper change is delivered.
Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.
Technorati, the recognized blog tracking service, reported that there are fifty-one million blogs were in publication as of today. This is one hundred times more blogs than were in existence when the tracking service started, three years ago.
The United States Department of Defense and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence today issued a joint news release announcing a electronic urban battlefield personnel and weapons transportation system, codenamed EUBPAWT (pronounced EUW-paw). The EUBPAWT system utilizes a high-energy quantum mechanical electrical field to quantify the quantum molecular structure of living tissue, which is then spatially transported and interstitially reconstituted.
Wikipedia, the popular online reference source for undergraduates and consumers, worldwide, has more than 15 times the number of articles than the well-known Encyclopedia Britannica, the self-proclaimed “world’s most indispensable and reliable reference resource.”
Google, Inc. seems to hope that thousands, possibly millions, of internet users will trust their digital data to the Mountain View, California company, the same one that sings forth the anthem “Don’t be evil.”
There are no traffic cops on the internet. Until now, that is. If U.S. telecommunication companies have their way, we may have internet traffic cops, patrol cars, and a full police union. The traffic cops will direct the traffic, giving preferential treatment to a select few that are able to pay for the unimpeded toll lane. Those who are able to pay the toll will get faster service.
Two great and, in at least one way, antithetic men were born on this day in 1809. One advocated man’s natural evolvement; the other, God’s greater involvement.
Podcast
The BBC News reported this week that wi-fi, wireless fidelity, networking is slow to catch on with consumers. Most people do not take advantage of the flexibility that wireless connectivity offers. Why is this? In this podcast, I discuss how I use wireless networking to create flexibility in my work schedule.
Do you carry a cellphone? Do you know that your cellular service provider knows where your phone is? By extension, if you carry your phone with you, your cellular service provider knows where you are. Cellular phones can be located, accurate to within about 300 yards, whenever they are turned on. Since most cellular phone users keep their phones on and with them most of the time, it is quite probable that their ongoing whereabouts are being automatically tracked.
During a GEN/480, Interdisciplinary Capstone, class this evening, we explored the question of whether it would be ethically responsible to visit a commercial bookstore and read books or magazines, even if one had no intention of purchasing the publication.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is going for the gold on eBay. According to eBay president and CEO, Meg Whitman, 40,000 Xbox 360 consoles have sold through the online auction site. That’s 10% of the total number of units estimated to have sold in the U.S. since the product was released.