infOpinions? del.icio.us links for 2006-01-11

Several good articles in today’s picks. Always looking for disability related stories (due to my past experience with Easter Seals), the story of Casper Wyoming’s Star Tribune offer of Braille file downloads for the visually impaired is especially interesting.

The other interesting story comes from a tip by Jeremy Pepper. It is the NYTimes story on Facebook. I have felt uneasy about that site for some time. The almost addictive effect it has on some students is bad enough, but the danger the site poses to unsavvy Web users is the worst aspect of the site.

I know of one student that was ‘visited’ by an unknown individual because the student made the mistake of putting their schedule in one of their posts. The ‘visitor’ read the post and followed the student. I fear that some day there will be a tragic event where someone is harmed (or worse) and the act will be – at least in some way – caused by information gleaned by someone about their intended victim.

• Poynter Online – Nice News Stories in Braille
  I love this! “On casperstartribune.net, each story has a “Braille file” link next to text that says: “This will download to your computer a braille ASCII file…”
  (tags: braille disability journalism online accessibility)
• The Australian: Statistics reward innovation [January 11, 2006]
  At the first lecture of each new year he gives new students a project to design and carry out. They compile data throughout their course and at the end, write a mock journal article on their project, methods and results.
  (tags: statistics survey+research education)
• laurafries.com Blog Archive » AJC.com’s branded newsreader
  AJC.com’s branded newsreader .. “Who is it for?”
  (tags: brand RSS+reader RSS)
• Portuguese student PR group
  A newsletter (pdf) in Portguese. Have to get my brother to translate it. Looks pretty interesting.
  (tags: PR Europe Portugal)
• Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) – USC Annenberg Strategic PR Center
  Public Relations: Generally Accepted Practices (G.A.P) Study
  GAP III (2005) Conducted by the USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center Sponsored by the Council of Public Relations Firms
  (tags: PR STOP USC Annenberg)
• PR Research Trends
  Manuela Gsponer (UK) :: This blog is about the current trends in PR research and is launched with the aim to become a database of PR Research Trends.
  (tags: PR research trends)
• In Your Facebook.com – New York Times
  Ingrid Gallagher, a sophomore at the University of Michigan. “But I think that more and more people are realizing that it also has a dark side.”
  (tags: Facebook Social+Media Addiction Security Safety Privacy)