HELP ME!

One of the most helpful topics that we covered in LOR 101 was the topic over plagiarism.

I think they're are a lot of vague rules and regulations on plagiarism, but Ms. Farmer's presentation and assignments over plagiarism rules were very helpful (even if I did flunk the quiz.)

The rules on plagiarism have been stressed since Middle School.

I remember having to turn in papers online to "Turn It In".com in order to check our paper's for plagiarism. In fact, I turn to that website sometimes for personal reference before I turn in a paper.

How has the Internet and technology affected an individual's right to privacy?

I began to allude to this topic in my last post.

There are several ways in which the internet and technology has affected an individual's right to privacy.

Lets just state the obvious - the Internet and technology has become so advanced, there is hardly anything known as "an individual's right to privacy." Technology geniuses could find anything that ever was published on the Internet - its like a giant cloud of history and information that is never truly deleted from the atmosphere that is the Internet.

Take for instance, FACEBOOK. (dun dun dun)

Or any social network, for that matter.

More and more people are publishing their "private" information on social networks. The networks provide "privacy policies" and "privacy settings," which allow some control. But really, as I mentioned, any expert has the capability of retrieving any history on the internet.

You can even consider Google.

They have employees who's job is specifically assigned to tracking user's history. They know when you searched what and how much you searched it. I understand the necessity of this.

All of that being said, I feel like people today are becoming more vulnerable, more transparent. They are more willing to put more information on the Internet than ever before. Because of that, the world has become more connected. This is producing negative and positive side affects. Which I could write about for days! Ill spare you!

I believe it to be imperative for individuals to have rights to privacy.

This comes in moderation, of course.

In light of the internet - I believe it is understood that whatever is placed on the internet is on the internet forever. Its hard to find hardly any privacy on the internet.

The government will constantly be collecting data about individuals, which I believe to be necessary. However, there needs to be regulation even on this matter. The Law of Privacy regulates what can be taken, and where it is stored.

DIARY OF A MAD SENIOR WOMAN

(a collection of self portraits from the past two weeks)

WORK

WORK
WORK

...and more WORK.

School is demanding. And it requires much discipline.
I need more discipline.
I have two weeks left of my college career, and I'm feeling the weight of all assignments, and the urgency to GET THINGS DONE.

These tips from College Fashion have helped me out:
1. Avoid stressful people.
Stress actually is contagious. During exam week, resist the urge to have a study session with your super-tense friend, especially if she’s complaining about all the work she has to do and breaking pencils all over the place. Her stress will only add to your stress.

2. Eat healthy and exercise.
This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s a wonder how many people forget it. Skip the sugar, which will make you crash, and go for snacks like granola bars, healthy cereal or fruits and veggies to keep your blood sugar stable. If you’re studying for a long period of time, eat some protein too. Also, try to get some form of exercise. Even a 10 minute walk will leave you calmer and more focused.

3. Just say NO.
I don’t mean to drugs, although I’m not recommending them or anything. What you need to say no to are the people who want to take up your time. There will probably be a friend who needs to talk to you for hours about her life, or a keg party the night before your final, and if you say yes, you’ll probably be tempted to blow off studying. Resist the urge. Say no to the distractions and be selfish for a day. You want a good GPA, right?

4. Force yourself to take breaks.
For every hour or so that you work, take a 10 or 15 minute break. Let yourself do whatever you want (check Facebook, check out that guy sitting nearby, stare off into space, call a friend, etc.) for those 10-15 mins, then start working again. This gives your brain a little rest and will help keep you more focused when you are actually doing work.

5. Visualize it all going right.
This is actually my favorite tip of all, even though it sounds kind of nuts. Imagine yourself taking the test and feeling confident that you know all the information. Picture getting all of the answers right, and focus on how relaxed you feel. Then picture the A on your test paper. When you imagine a happy ending, that’s often what happens, because you make the decisions that lead to it without even realizing.

6. If you’ve studied all you can, get up your confidence!
When test-time rolls around, it’s time to get yourself into confidence mode. You’ve prepared as much as you could, and now it’s time to ace the test. The tip here is to do whatever works to convince yourself you are going to do really well. Again, I know this tip sounds a little crazy but you just have to try it for yourself. I think you’ll like the results.

KENTUCKY NATIONAL GUARD



This semester, I am in my final Public Relations class.
My capstone class, if you will.

When we started the class, my professor stated, "This is your 9-5 job."
It has been just that, my demanding-last-semester-of-college job.

We are planning a recruitment campaign for the Kentucky National Guard on Murray State's campus.
We have had to do a lot of RESEARCH for this campaign.

JSTOR has come in handy.
Through JSTOR, we've been able to find a lot of articles about the history on the National Guard, as well as research reports on various issues with the National Guard.

Copy Right

The one part of the Copy Right Law that I would change is the Intellectual Property Rights.
This part of the law is confusing to me!

"Intellectual property (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs."

The public domain part of the copyright law states:

"Works are in the public domain if their kind is not covered by intellectual property rights or if the intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or have never been claimed. Examples include the English language, the formulae of Newtonian physics, as well as the works of Shakespeare and the patents over powered flight."

I wish there were a more clear definition of Intellectual Property, so that it would never be in question what is or is not Public Domain!

ODE TO ROOMMATE

I can't believe I've written on this blog all semester and haven't even mentioned my sweet roommate and BEST FRIEND,

STEVIE MIRANDA WEST.

Introducing the one and only.

Stevie is quite the technology extraordinaire. And by that I mean, she doesn't know much at all. But through this, I have learned much. Ignorance is bliss. She's pretty happy.

I say this out of love. She is dear to me, and I have learned so much from her.

Stevie is from a small Amish community in Tennessee. She left the Amish sect for college - her family has disowned her. My family has been given the privilege of taking her in and loving her like she is one of our own. I remember meeting Stevie freshman year. She is full of life and love, and her name is really cool.

Could you imagine transitioning from a technology-less community, to a world where technology RULES? She stepped into the "information age" at 18.

Okay, I'll cut the crap.

She's not from an Amish community or any of those things - but she really does hate technology. Stevie doesn't know much about it, and she is okay with that. I admire her - I truly do. I am not ashamed of my love and obsession for the Information Age, however, I do wish to live more simply sometimes. And thats that - Stevie lives simple, and she is satisfied. She'll deal with technology when she needs to, but unlike me, its not something she has to have every day.

In her case, ignorance truly is bliss.

I am tempted often to break plagiarism rules.

Its hard!

I think the main reason it is so difficult is because sometimes the main source just explains/words the idea better than I could. Thats it, plain and simple. Don't you ever read something and think to yourself, "I couldn't have said it better myself!"

I can take the blame for this. I am simply not intelligent enough to come up with wise thoughts and clever statements on my own. Its my lack of discipline in the art of reading and writing - I don't do it enough.

Laziness will always lead to plagiarism.

Its something I could definitely improve. Its never my intention to "steal" someone's work. It's just difficult for me to reword or take away from the original thought of the author or creator that I adore so much.

AVOID PLAGIARISM

Even after four sweet years of college, I am still learning about all the guidelines to plagiarism.

There are several ways I make sure to avoid plagiarism.

One practical way is after reading a source, I like to verbally explain to myself what it is the source is saying about my topic. Saying it out loud allows for me to form my own thoughts and

opinions, and it reassures me that I am actually learning the information.

Also, I like to have my peers proofread and make sure that I am properly siting all sources.

A third way that helps me test plagiarism is by submitting my papers to websites such as TurnItIn. This website checks the entire paper to ensure its credibility. It is the global leader in addressing plagiarism and giving feedback.

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The sites I included:

1. The Hype Machine: Expert advice on great music and concerts. From their website, "We are creating tools that empower independent voices that write about music. We think a select group of passionate people can produce more engaging conversation than a huge social mob, or a rigid hierarchy of editors. We amplify their posts and the audio they choose, to help this vibrant culture spread."
2. Obscure Sound: A blog that keeps you up to date on up and coming artists, as well as their concerts. Mike Mineo is the founder of the blog. This site’s aim is relatively straightforward: to provide music fans with the latest and greatest music. It is updated frequently.
3. NPR Music Blog: National Public Radio is a highly credible radio station which also provides a lot of internet services. This website is constantly updated with news about artists, new music releases, and concerts.
4. Now Playing Nashville: Nashville is relatively close to Louisville and Murray (my two places of residence.) Also, it is music city. This website is constantly updated with the latest news on concerts in Nashville.
5. Lousiville Concerts: I am from Louisville, so this website keeps me updated on the music scene in my favorite city.
6. Stub Hub: This is a website generated for ticket sales. It also has tour dates for just about any band you can think of!
7. Poll Star: another ticket sale website.
8. Live Nation: another ticket sale website.
9. Ticket Master: another ticket sale website.
10. Yahoo! Music: a credible search engine that is updated with music news and concerts.

I am intrigued. Fascinated. Infatuated.

From Life123:

"Free running is categorized as a "physical art," which consists of participants performing movements through various structures. Free runners are often seen performing free running exercises on objects such as walls, railings and trees. The idea of free running is to generate physical representations of freedom and beauty. In layman's terms, it is the physically taxing performance routine you often see people performing on ledges or other high objects, but, fundamentally, can be practiced in much simpler settings. "

This video is of the new Free Running academy - Tempest Freerunning Academy - in California. The Academy is California's first and only training facility solely dedicated to the growth and spread of freerunning. Wow! I did gymnastics as a child and loved it - I think I've missed my calling. Forget Google, I'm moving to California and dedicating my life to free running.

Free running combines acrobatics and parkour. The definition of parkour is (from WiseGeek)

Parkour is a movement philosophy which was developed in twentieth century France. It is a bit difficult to define parkour, since it integrates several disciplines; it could be said to be a sport, a hobby, and a philosophy. Essentially, parkour is about learning to navigate obstacles, and rethinking the use of one's body and the use of public spaces.

With that being said, I'll leave you with a clip from one of my favorite episodes of The Office:

Google

I love Google.

My top four favorite Google applications are:

1) Google Mail. (Gmail)

My Gmail allows for 7569 MB. Thats incredible. I'll never run out of Gmail space. It's easy to navigate and manage. ALSO, Gmail has a chat feature - Gchat. I use this feature often. You can video chat on Gchat as well.

2) Google Reader.

I love blogs. I check a large number of blogs every day, and Google read

er keeps them all organized. Its like email for the blogs you follow. Any time a blogger updates, it pops up in my "new" inbox. Again, this application is easy to navigate and so convenient!

3) Google Calendar

I need help with organization, and Google calendars does just that. I can upload all of my events to my calendar, and even better - Google calendar is in sync with the calendar on my phone. Even better than that - my family can load

their calendars and share them with me. Being away from home, this application brings my heart a lot of joy.

4) Google Books

Right now, you can search over the full text of some seven million books through Google Books. Google has partnered with renowned libraries around the world to include their collections in Book Search. Google has also partnered with over 20,000 publishers and authors to make their books discoverable on Google. You can flip through a few preview pages of these books, just like you'd browse them at a bookstore or library. You'll also see links to libraries and bookstores where you can borrow or buy the book. What's not to love?

WIKI WIKI WIKIPEDIA

Knowing that the public has the ability to change any information on the Wikipedia site, makes Wikipedia lose all of its credibility. Its humorous and entertaining to me, however, I would never reference this site for any topic of research or interest. It's absurd that any random person could create a false "Biography" on a false person and post it on the web.

The only times I reference Wikipedia are if I need a quick definition. Wikipedia is usually the first option that pops up on a Google search, so often times I click on Wikipedia and take a quick glance.

If I saw false information on a page on Wikipedia, I would probably change it. Then again, why would that matter? If it is not a credible site, how would me changing the information make it anymore credible? No one has to believe that I'm a credible source - the public doesn't know me from Adam. Its a vicious cycle! Its the Internet!

I'm a Bandwagon Fan.

...and I'm not ashamed of it!

This past weekend I was able to go to my first Major League Baseball game. I loved it.

I went to St. Louis with eight of my closest friends to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the San Antonio Padres.

Despite the fact that the Cardinal's lost, I got to see Albert Pujols hit a home run!

I don't know much about baseball, but I do know Pujols is a big deal. In fact, I was sporting a Pujol's jersey at the game, compliments of my friend Melissa.

I learned a lot about baseball on Saturday.

I know a guy with a decent St. Louis Cardinals blog (a junior at Western Kentucky University):

Red Bird Report

I feel inspired to get into the spirit of America's past time. It's time I finally join the crowd, jump on the bandwagon.

Prominent technology developers such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple try to manage and control how we use the internet.

Personally, I think these companies are clever in their tactics.

Because of the advances major developers have made, the internet is easier to access and easier to learn. Apple is continually producing new software and new products that make internet access convenient. New technology such as the iPad allow lay people and business people to connect to the internet almost anywhere at any time. I wouldn't necessarily consider this "controlling" - more or less "aiding" the culture in gaining affective and profitable internet use.

The more these major technology developers compete, the more society's internet use will continue to rise. The internet is becoming an integral and vital part of our culture, and it is necessary for these companies to keep up with the revolution.

THE INFORMATION AGE
Within the past ten years, the Internet and web have made a tremendous impact on our culture.
It will be difficult to summarize the impact on my simple "I Love the Library" blog.


Today, the Internet is a part of our every day life.
The Internet is a primary source of communication and information retrieval.
Now, majority of the population has a "smart phone" that can access the internet at any time.
Media and news is easily accessed, and people essentially are more "in the know" than they were just ten years ago.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the impact of the Internet is the Music Industry. With everything going digital, there are hardly any profits being made from CD production. Musicians and artists are losing a lot of income due to illegal downloads or music applications such as iTunes. The following is a quote from an article found on Bloomberg Businessweek

"The new world of music looks very different from the old. With the new Web, services' listeners don't put CDs into a stereo or download tunes to their iPod. Instead, their music sits on a server somewhere else, waiting to be played from a computer or any other Net-connected device."

It will be interesting to see how the Internet continues to expand and the affect it will continue to have on our culture.

I love the outdoors.

Some of my favorite spots in the country are:

Bernheim Forest (Louisville, KY)

Smokey Mountains (Gatlinburg, KY)

Redwood National Park (Crescent City, KY)

I love to hike. I love to kayak. I love to ride my bike.

I am very thankful for the internet, and for state parks and forests that have good websites. When I'm planning to spend the day at Bernheim Forest in Louisville, I can pull up the park map on the Bernheim website and map my course. Also, when wanting to travel to a state park or forest that is far away, I can look up directions easily on their websites. Almost every national park provides directions on their website.

Do You Believe in Magic?

I do not always believe everything I read on the internet.

There are a lot of sites that I frequently visit to gather information on the news and culture. Some of my top sites are the following:

CNN (news)

BBC (news)

Between Two Worlds (theological blog)

I know these sites to be credible because they always reference their topics, and uses reliable sources to gather information.

It would not be wise to believe everything you read on the Internet. Most sites (Wikipedia) are easy to access, and information can be easily altered. Most sites on the internet offer opinions on a certain number of topics. Opinions are not facts. The internet is a gold mine of information, and sometimes it is hard to figure out what is good and what is bad. It would be helpful to be a critical reader and the check the sources on the website.

I am not a fan of online advertising. Only because I find it extremely annoying when I'm trying to get work done, and my desktop is flooded with pop ups advertising for homeowner's insurance and travel coupons.

Even though I am not a fan, I understand the economic advantages to online advertising. Advertisers can deliver information immediately, and the content of the information is not restricted to time nor space. Also, online advertisements offer a myriad of features. Advertiser's can link several different pages to an online ad, they can connect their ads to popular social networks, and consumers can instantly interact with the advertiser.

Advertisements that really peeve me - Email ads, Facebook ads, the ads that pop up before you try to watch a video on YouTube or Hulu. While these all may be necessary for websites to be successful, I'd rather do without them.

LOR 101

This class is not what I expected it would be.

It has EXCEEDED my expectations. I'm not ju

st brown-nosing.

Just being honest. I think I came into the class thinking I wouldn't get anything out of it.

I've sat through eight library presentations from Linda Bartnik, all of which were AWESOME and informative and helpful. Signing up for this class, I kinda felt like I had "been there, done that."

So here's to you, Ms. Farmer.

One of the most interesting topics we have covered in this class is the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is home to the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, and over 32 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages - the archival super center of American history. I am intrigued. I want to go. I am thankful for our country's ability to document and preserve primary sources. Better than that, there is an online database for the Library of Congress. YES!

The Dewey Decimal System, Boolean Logic, Truncation...all of these topics have contributed to me becoming a more efficient researcher. But most of all, I have enjoyed learning about the Library of Congress.

Tri Sigma Step Steam 2010 (I'm in the checkered zip-up)

It's that time of year, folks. To get "All the way turnt up!" and put on your steppin' shoes.

This Tuesday on Murray State's campus is the 11th Annual Alpha Step-Off.

If you dont know, you need to know.

This is a campus event that generates high attendance and impeccable entertainment.

Check out Tri Sigma's performance last year:

"Sigma Sigma Sigma Mob"

If you are confused on what Step is... check out the history of it, in this article.

Stepping, Saluting, Cracking, and Freaking. - The Cultural Politics of African American Step Shows (from JSTOR)

Step is one of my favorite things to do. I love to dance, but that doesn't mean that I can. This is a good outlet for us rhythmically challenged people to "bust a move."
Tuesday, March 8th, at 7pm in Lovett Auditorium. BE THERE!

The database I use the most is JSTOR. My english professor my freshman year introduced me to this gem of a database.

The front page reads, "Used by millions for research, teaching, and learning. With more than a thousand academic journals and over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources, JSTOR is one of the world's most trusted sources for academic content."

The world's most trust sources for academic content. JSTOR is credible and efficient. I know how to navigate and access this database more than a

ny other database I have been introduced to in my college career. The online database is simple and produces fast results. I am thankful that my professor introduced this gold mine to me three years ago.

One of my favorite things about JSTOR is the variety of categories. There are plenty of "disciplines" to choose from, but it is not an overwhelming list. This helps me to narrow down my search.

Databases

Databases are essential for research.

Databases organize all the sources of information needed for research.
Here, information is stored, and one can retrieve information very easily.

There are several different forms of databases.

• Analytic
• Operational
• Hierarchical
• Network

(for descriptions - The UK Web Design Company)

I really enjoy the Murray State Library Database online.
Its easy to find books or papers in this database.

Recognize & Organize

The first step to being an organized person is being able to recognize when something is not organized. I usually have my dear friends let me know if my life/room/stuff is not organized. Over the years I've developed a good eye for things that need organization.

The first tool I use for organization is my calendar.

I record all of my homework assignments and weekly events in this 8.5in by 11in calendar book. I use a highlighter to highlight different activities - blue for school, green for work, pink for extracurricular. I also have a back up calendar on my computer.

I have a lot of papers. A LOT of papers. I organize these in a trusty little Mead binder.

This trusty gem carries all the material I receive in my classes. It has section dividers for each class; without it I would be as lost as an easter egg.

Organization is the key to success, its as simple as that.

"To Organize" ...or not to organize.

Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.

When I hear the words "to organize", I immediately start thinking about my dresser drawers in my bed room that need to be organized. I have an excessive amount of t-shirts that are in the drawers, all tossed together. There is no type of order to my drawers, and that bugs me. It would be beneficial and less frustrating when trying to find a t-shirt to wear if I organized these drawers. To organize these drawers would mean folding every shirt in the same fashion, and neatly laying them in stacks.

This can relate to research information. We are blessed to be living in an age where information is neatly organized electronically. The internet is a GINORMOUS source of organized information. I wish I could begin to explain how it all worked. When I search any term on Google, and organized list of sources immediately pops up. Its crazy!

Social Networking

I love Twitter.

I am extremely thankful for social networking, and the advancements social networking is making.

One reason why I love Twitter - its fast.

Every tweet is short, simple, and to the point. I have friends who have children, and when I'm away at school, I appreciate their "twit pics

" and "twit videos" they post of their kids.

Its a great way to stay connected with friends and family!

Its also a great way to do research. I follow CNN News and World Cup News (and several other news sources), and I am constantly catching updates from their twitter posts. I think Twitter is more affective then Facebook. Dont get me wrong, I use Facebook frequently, but I do enjoy the simpleness of Twitter.

its the weekend!

i am so thankful for the weekend.

(made by Ashley Lyn)

today is my best friend's (Madison Buckingham) 22nd birthday.

last night we ventured to Paducah to celebrate. she came in town from Louisville, KY to celebrate!
I am a Louisville native, and in order to know where to go in Paducah, I had to do some research on good restaurants.

I went to Urban Spoon and looked up downtown Paducah restaurants. After reading several reviews, I found the restaurant - Max's Brick Oven. It was DELICIOUS. I suggest this place for anyone wanting to venture out of Murray for the night. I had a delicious brick oven pizza, with chicken and roasted red peppers. After dinner, we walked over to Di Fritelli's restaurant for dessert. We enjoyed a delicious white chocolate brownie.

I am thankful for the Urban Spoon search engine. I suggest it to anyone looking for a great restaurant in their local area!

"Dont settle for what is handy."

This phrase applies to research.

When I am researching, it is super easy for me to get on my computer and pull up google. Also, with a search engine like Google, it is easy for me to just choose the first link that appears. This is what I classify as handy. The internet and Google are extremely handy. However, it is in my best interest to exhaust all my resources, not just the "handy" ones.

I fall guilty of taking the easy way out often. The Murray State library is stocked with books, upon books, upon periodicals, upon videos. There is a lot of great information that is published and in hard copy form. I often get lazy in my work and choose the handy source - Google. I have written some really great papers, and done a lot of great research because of my "handy" tools, but I feel like I would perform even better if I chose to step out of the internet realm.

This is me, being transparent. On my blog, for my library class. I hope I'm not the only one who experiences this!

"Practice thinking about sources."

When considering information research, this phrase means that I should practice and sharpen my skills in knowing which sources are credible and which are not. I should practice how to look for credible sources, and how to find the sources that will give me easy and quick access to the information I need. If Im doing research, I want to be efficient. If I am practicing my skills in researching for information, I will become more familiar with how to use sources, and which sources will best help me.

Practice makes perfect! That applies to everything.

Before coming to college, I used Google for every research topic. After four years of much practice, and many research papers, I now know of many sources and research avenues that give me the best information. This is the "information age", so there are constantly new additions to the research world. Students need to keep up with the changes, and must practice thinking about sources.

Meanwhile, I found this video about "How to Research a Paper" to be entertaining and helpful.

LIVE!

So, the Grammys are this weekend.

I am pumped!

Mainly I am excited because The Avett Bros, Bob Dylan, and Mumford and Sons will be performing together.

A great asset that technology provides these days is LIVE Streaming. You can watch TV shows, sports, news broadcasts, Awards shows LIVE online through a LIVE Stream. The Grammys have a live stream on the Grammy website. So even though I will stuck at my computer working on assignments due this coming week, I will still be able to catch performances LIVE, thanks to LIVE streaming.

Other websites where I can live stream events are:

• ESPN 360 (I never have to miss a UofL men's basketball game, Go Cards!)
• DesiringGod (live stream's different Christian conferences)

My favorite website to find information is GOOGLE.

It is quick and efficient. I use Google Chrome as my browser on my computer and it has never given me problems. I can type in a search term in the browser bar and it will immediately search it Google. I have results popping up as I am typing out my search. Google has several different helpful facets such as Google Scholar, Google Maps, Google Images, and Google News. The organization is awesome!

Also, the folks who work for Google are extremely creative. If you go to this website - Google Office - you can check out their work environment!

What is an Author?

Broadly defined, an author is someone who creates or gives existence to anything.

An author is important, because essentially, without authors there would be no creations.

I'd like to share a little about my favorite author. When I hear the word "Author", initially I think of the author of the universe, God. He created all things, knows all things, and has given existence to everything. He created me, and I know he has written my life story.

(hows that for cheesy).

I come across authors all day, every day. I read many blogs, and blog writers are some of my favorite authors. Some blogs I visit daily are:

• Justin Taylor
• Taza&Husband
• Of First Importance
• Ashley Lyn

“Be conscious of these little distractions, others confuse the Gospel with social and political action. If it stops with helping at soup kitchens and political involvement it’s not the true mission.” Hazakim -Evangelism

• 

  I LOVE this CD. LampMode Records teamed up with 9Marks and released “The Church - Called and Collected” last summer.

  “We understand both the seemingly controversial nature of “the Church”, especially among the Hip hop contingent, and well as the biblical imperative of the Church’s importance. We are simply offering our contribution to the conversation, fueled and on the diving board of 9Marks’ book, “What is a healthy church”, written by Mark Dever.”

  Hip-hop + solid theology. A dream come true. For me, at least.

  It was during my sophomore year of college that I dove into a research on "What is the Church?" This may seem like a broad question, and I am for certain that there are many many MANY documents/archives/articles/opinions/movies on this very topic. As a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, (i believe Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life & died on the cross for my sins, and rose again three days later...and that it is by grace that i have been saved through faith in this act - my savior dying for me and taking the wrath for my sin) I believe the best resource for research on the topic of the Church is the Bible.

  Thanks to incredible technology, I can access the Bible at almost any point. I frequent the Online ESV (English Standard Version) Bible. This is an incredible resource for searching anything in the Bible.

It is easy to navigate, and there are maps, articles, and commentary that are easy to access.

I spent about 5 months studying the Church my sophomore year. The Bible provided all of my answers, along with commentary and Godly wisdom from some of my mentores.

I am thankful for this research tool - The Bible!

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND - GEORGE BOOLE

George Boole is the inventor of "Boolean Algebra" and "Boolean Searching." He known for his concepts in the field of mathematical logic, and his concepts in computer science or information science. Boole established the method of "And, Or, and Not" when selecting the appropriate options for connecting search terms to find information in search engines like Google. This information was found on the San Jose University website.

"Boolean Searching" is an effective way to search for information in a database. Boole developed the method in the 19th century, and it is based on the logical relationship among search terms. Each search term is connected by a "Boolean Operator". The three operators are "And", "Or", and "Not." "And" searches for occurrences in all of the search terms in a single record. "Or" searches for records that contain any of the tearms. "Not" searches for records that contain the first term but not the second term. This information was found in The Research Process: Books & Beyond.

Boole's system has helped the research and information age tremendously. His method has been used for centuries, and will continued to be used.

Do all animals have rights?

Regarding this topic, a question I would like to research is "What laws have evolved since the start of animal rights activism?"

Some key words that one could use to research this top are:

• animal rights
• laws
• animal right activism
• start of animal rights

I found a couple good resources for researching this topics:

Animal Rights: History & Scope of a Radical Social Movement

A Complete Guide to Animal Rights Movement

Do Animals Have Rights?

Other good sources for research can be found at:

Google Scholar

Murray State Library

MOH Survivor Guide

I just got back from an incredible 24 hours.

One of my best friends, Brandy, is getting married next weekend, and we decided to head on down to Nashville to celebrate her last weekend as a single woman. I am the Maid of Honor (MOH) in her wedding, so I had the awesome privilege of planning this amazing weekend! I knew she Brandy wanted to go to Nashville, so a couple months ago I started doing research on the Music City.

My research began with Google.
Step 1 - I looked up a dozen hotels and good deals. I finally decided to use PRICELINE. I used their "Name Your Own Price" feature, and found an awesome hotel in downtown Nashville. We stayed at the Millenium Maxwell House for $68 for one night.

Step 2 - The next step was to look up entertainment. I used Google to research a ton of restaurants, coffee shops, dancing joints, etc... Here is what I planned for the weekend:

Friday

Dessert at Sweet CeCe's Frozen Yogurt.(This place is AMAZING)

Line Dancing at the Wildhorse Saloon. (Great place to go if you're not into the CRAZY party scene!)

Saturday

Breakfast at Crema Coffeehouse. (I had a DELICIOUS pour over coffee, and a bowl of granola with banana's and soy milk. Spent time with the girls and the Bible here!)

Shopping in Hillsboro Village. (A real hipster part of town with great boutiques and restaurants. PLUS we spotted Taylor Swift here, seriously. The photo I snapped:

Lunch at the Puffy Muffin. (A local favorite! I had an awesome California Chicken & Black Bean Salad)

That's a complete recap of our weekend.

It was wonderful. Thanks to research on Google, I was able to have success, and an AMAZING time with the girls! Most importantly, the Bride was pleased. :D

"What is Information?"

What an interesting question!?

Initially, attempting to answer this question seems like a daunting task. This is something I have never considered to ask or have been asked before.

Information has many different meanings. According to Edward M. Housman's poem, The Nature of Information, information comes in two forms, biological and physical. He writes also that "information can be expressed in different ways: a voice, a letter." The best description Housman writes is, in my opinion, "information is the substance that passes between us when I tell you something."

I wanted to take a deeper look into what scholars were saying about information. I found an article on Svieby Knowledge Associates website. In an article entitled, What is Information?, Karl Sveiby proposes that "The way the word information is used can refer to both "facts" in themselves and the transmission of the facts." Sveiby goes on to critique other scholars' definition of knowledge.

After reading through this article as well as many others, I have come to the conclusion that I agree most with Housman. Simply and plainly stated, "Information is the substance that passes between us when I tell you something."

Questions

At the beginning of last year, my car's transmission died. In this situation, I had to ask several questions:

• How much does a new transmission cost?
• How long does it take to fix a transmission?
• Who will fix my Jetta's transmission since it is a foreign automobile?
• Who will give me the best price to fix the transmission?

When this even first took place, I had no idea where to begin. Thankfully I have an awesome dad who helped me with this venture. We looked online and google-d different Volkswagon transmission prices. Some examples of the websites are as follows:

• Edmunds
• About.com

Then, we visited several different dealers in Louisville, my hometown. We got several estimates on the repair before deciding which dealer to use. I'm sure there were a lot more questions that my dad knew to ask. This is just one simple example of a "real situation" and how life can bring up many questions!