Knowledge and Dignity in the Era of “Big Data”

Private companies and government agencies are now creating and tapping into vastly more data than ever before. These data flows include enormous amounts of personal information and raise questions about privacy and intellectual policy that could have profound impacts on our lives. While data collection and creation are nearly ubiquitous, the instruments of collection and analysis are often hidden in order to track more natural behavior. Recent revelations of massive governmental data collection offer the country, and librarians in particular, an opportunity to discuss and question the societal implications of “Big Data,” and the policies that govern them.     

What Becomes of Undergraduate Dance Majors?

This paper examines the earnings, work patterns, and work histories of individuals employed in the field of dance using data from a survey of graduates of the Five College Dance Department. The respondents to our survey include not only those currently working in dance, but also some who never entered the profession and many others who entered but later left the field. We find that graduate education in dance, age, and prior dance experience are highly correlated with employment in the field of dance. Our findings are similar to those of other studies on artists, in showing that the returns to dance are low and that many of those employed in dance rely on non-dance jobs to supplement their dance earnings.     

A static method for obtaining a calibration factor for SRM bicycle power cranks

Many scientists and coaches are interested in mechanical power produced during cycling, and use Schoberer Rad Me\technik (SRM) bicycle power cranks to obtain this data. However, it has been expensive and difficult to calibrate SRM cranks, causing much of the collected data to be unreliable. We present a static method, derived from first principles, for obtaining a calibration factor for SRM cranks. A known mass and lever arm (chainring of a known diameter) are used to apply a known torque load to the instrument in four positions, and the output frequencies are used to calculate the calibration factor in Hz/Nm. The reproducibility of this method is ±0.01 Hz/Nm, which is acceptable for the application of the instrument, which is measurement of mechanical power application by cyclists at the crank. The method is reliable, inexpensive, and easy to set up, and will allow higher confidence in data collected using SRM power cranks. We recommend calibration of the power meter once every six months because of the measured drift of the calibration factor over time.     

Fisher's "Scale-Book": An Early Attempt at Educational Measurement

The authors report on the discovery of a 19th century document that illustrates an early example of educational measurement. The text, copied from the original in the British Museum, is presented in its entirety in the article.