Comments on: Professors Gone Paperless http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/ spirituality in the workplace Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:05:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: james http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-3814 james Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:20:18 +0000 http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-3814 I saw http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/ and wanted to mention a useful site: http://www.FreePatentsOnline.com It provides free patent searching, free PDF downloading, allows annoting documents and sharing them, and free alerts for new documents. If you have a spot, a link to let your users know abou the site would be great. I saw http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/ and wanted to mention a useful site: http://www.FreePatentsOnline.com

It provides free patent searching, free PDF downloading, allows annoting documents and sharing them, and free alerts for new documents.

If you have a spot, a link to let your users know abou the site would be great.

]]> By: Ms. Theologian http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-2825 Ms. Theologian Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:50:46 +0000 http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-2825 Toonhead, for professors publishing their books online? Elizabeth, oh, textbooks do have biases, but I guess I'm thinking that often one person's approach (or craziness) is mediated by others in an author team....my dad wrote a mainstream college government text and there was a lot of back and forth with the other writers and outside reviewers, and then of course there is back and forth with the editors whereas if he had just published it himself, it would have been a really limited perspective. (Not that he's limited, just that he sees government one way.) But yes, no one seems to admit their biases (or even know them). The other way textbooks end up with biases is from state standards that require a clear bias, but that's not applicable at college level. Toonhead, for professors publishing their books online?

Elizabeth, oh, textbooks do have biases, but I guess I’m thinking that often one person’s approach (or craziness) is mediated by others in an author team….my dad wrote a mainstream college government text and there was a lot of back and forth with the other writers and outside reviewers, and then of course there is back and forth with the editors whereas if he had just published it himself, it would have been a really limited perspective. (Not that he’s limited, just that he sees government one way.) But yes, no one seems to admit their biases (or even know them). The other way textbooks end up with biases is from state standards that require a clear bias, but that’s not applicable at college level.

]]> By: Elizabeth http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-2823 Elizabeth Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:22:49 +0000 http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-2823 I have no idea how well these professors are working at their textbooks and how much they do to edit/fact check/etc. But one interesting point is that it is not clear to me how well at least some textbook companies do this with their own books. I am working on a project that involves surveying large numbers of political science textbooks and many do not seem to have any interest in preventing the text from being "the opinion of one sole author." They will write a textbook from, say, a primarily realist perspective without making that quite clear. Or make the democratic process in the United States seem like it is working amazingly, without taking much time note its short comings. Or take one paragraph to note the unfortunate death of some Native Americans without noting that the death by diseases were part of a genocide, or even noting that some people understood/stand it as such. Not that this makes it better if the professors are not adequately editing, but I'm not sure if it differentiates them that much for many (often mainstream) college textbook publishers. (Sorry that got too long.) I have no idea how well these professors are working at their textbooks and how much they do to edit/fact check/etc. But one interesting point is that it is not clear to me how well at least some textbook companies do this with their own books. I am working on a project that involves surveying large numbers of political science textbooks and many do not seem to have any interest in preventing the text from being “the opinion of one sole author.” They will write a textbook from, say, a primarily realist perspective without making that quite clear. Or make the democratic process in the United States seem like it is working amazingly, without taking much time note its short comings. Or take one paragraph to note the unfortunate death of some Native Americans without noting that the death by diseases were part of a genocide, or even noting that some people understood/stand it as such. Not that this makes it better if the professors are not adequately editing, but I’m not sure if it differentiates them that much for many (often mainstream) college textbook publishers. (Sorry that got too long.)

]]> By: Toonhead http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-2822 Toonhead Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:54:07 +0000 http://survivingtheworkday.com/2008/04/21/professors-gone-paperless/#comment-2822 I do some of the work described in your last bullet point. I do some of the work described in your last bullet point.

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