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Wikiversity:Colloquium/archives/February 2008

Thoughts on a model of content creation, community building, outreach, and snowballs
I'm afraid I have a rather hard time understanding what Action research is about, but I've been juggling a lot of ideas around over the past several weeks and some of them might be due to some osmosis from that discussion. Specifically, a lot of thoughts have more or less come together and crystallized while experimenting with Radio Discussion. Here's what I had in mind:

1. Find a topic that interests you, and a source to use as an object for discussion: I, for example, am interested in environmental issues, and even more specifically am very interested in fuel efficient vehicles (I own 3 very large vehicles, which get from 6MPG to 17 MPG).

2. Collect further materials (especially those within the Wikimedia Foundation projects) and come up with some "feedback questions." The MPG issue was discussed in a radio program I listen to, so I went ahead and did an "annotation" for that segment.

3. Create "show of hands" questions that can define learning groups: I haven't linked everything in yet, but you can see where I used the templates here. Note especially that 2 of the questions are "rating" Wikipedia articles. We can also use DPL to make comparative interpretations like I've done here (it comparing only one user at the moment, but hopefully you get the idea)

4. Ask participants if they would like to work on further Wikiversity resources or Wikibooks textbooks related to the subject: I haven't done that yet, but it will be part of a template on the top of each feedback page.

OK, so let's pause there and see what we have thus far:
 * 1) A learning resource with links to various materials on a subject, which could be used as part of any learning resource on that subject (either on Wikiversity or in another institution)
 * 2) Some data about how people react to certain aspects of a subject
 * 3) A contact list for Wikipedia editors who want further input on how to improve an article
 * 4) A list of people who you could seek out to do a related project

That seems to me to have a lot of potential for outreach and community building:
 * 1) University and other instructors can come here with ideas for a lesson plan
 * 2) Participants and other observers can get an idea about how an issue affects other participants
 * 3) Wikipedians can be alerted via talk-page templates of the results, and can find readers to ask opinions of
 * 4) Wikiversitans and Wikibookians can have a route to find collaborators

It also seems like it may have a snowball quality: the more people participate, the more people will participate.

I am way over my head when you guys discuss education theory, but does this make sense? It can be used for any project, not just radio discussions. --SB_Johnny | talk 17:19, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Thank you so much for this SB_Johnny. :-) I'm often afraid that theory-heavy discussions are off-putting, so it's good to be reminded - and you've now motivated me to make changes to the Action research page. Put simply, Action research is 1) putting together a plan of some change, 2) implementing, and observing and reflecting on the change, and 3) using these observations/reflections to put together a renewed plan of change, which leads to further implementation/observation/reflection, etc etc. You can think of it as analogous to a running experiment, where you have trial and error, continuously feeding back into the research questions/design. So, I wouldn't really see what you've outlined above as "action research" - I would see it as a particular way of facilitating a discussion group, and using surveys for various ends. However, I could see these ideas being used in an action research approach - implementing these steps as planned changes, and then asking questions like "is setting up discussion groups in this way useful - and in what way, and for whom?", and "does generating metrics like these help people define learning groups or collaborate better?". Action research, like any research, is about testing out hunches/ideas/theories/hypotheses - it's just that it tests them out "in action". Does that make sense? (Please help me see my own blind spots!) Cormaggio talk 19:14, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

 * OK, so this is definitely about a meta-conversation, so maybe a better question: "by posting my ideas here on the colloquium, am I engaging in Action Research?" --SB_Johnny | talk 19:45, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Unfortunately, the only thing anyone could really say to that question is "possibly" :-) - and the reason I say that is because AR is a bit hard to pin down exactly. :-( Yes, testing out your ideas/theories against other people's is definitely a kind of research process - but I'd say putting everything under the label of AR slightly dilutes the core concept of AR - which is learning about something (a context/practice) by changing it. There's loads to discuss here - so I've just set up an action research discussion group. Please hop in. :-) Cormaggio talk 20:11, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

 * I would like to have movies, like youtube movies, involved in the radio. I can't be involved for a while, though. Because i don't have a good computer yet and too little money to buy one.--Daanschr 18:48, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Downloading Wikiversity source code
Hi, I'd like to know where I can download the Wikiversity source code package, if it's available from WikiMedia. --Santiago 13:50, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Do you mean downloading the software that Wikiversity runs on? It's called MediaWiki, and you can download it at this link. Cormaggio talk 15:20, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

New online research opportunity
I have found yet another online participation research project,, and this time it's not astronomy or screensaver related. It's about unconscious bias. Does anyone know what page we are putting all these thing on that normal people would be able to find? Would that be the Research portal, or something else?--Rayc 00:23, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the interesting link - seems like it could fit in with our idea of disclosing our biases. However, it doesn't really seem as if that project gives an opportunity to conduct research, but rather participate in a range of surveys. So, I'm not sure about adding it to the research portal - but I do intend on refactoring that portal, in light of a discussion on wikiresearch-l mailing list, in which I've been proposing Wikiversity as a central workspace/hub for Wikimedia and wiki research... Cormaggio talk 09:13, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

 * The link is to a site of the university of Harvard and other universities. The only thing you can do is psychological tests. Psychology students and teachers will use the data for their research. So, everybody can help science out for free :-) --Daanschr 10:33, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
 * That is what I'm looking for, offsite efforts that allow common people to participate in professional research. Notice how you learn about your own unconscious biases while at the same time helping with there research.  Samethign with the galaxy zoo project.  I'm not sure how to incorporate them on site, though. --Rayc 17:07, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
 * We could have something like Non-Wikiversity research projects (or does the title need to specify that it's online research?). The only thing is that there are so many calls for participation in research projects (and they have limited timespans), that it will need a fair bit of work in keeping up to date - and it could lend itself to spamming from, say, market researchers. Cormaggio talk 19:53, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Deletion
Could an Administrator erase this User talk:Terra/Archives I accidentally created it, because of copying my templates from my userpage on User:Terra on Wikipedia and forgot to change it, sorry about this. Imperial What do you want? 19:50, 24 February 2008 (UTC)
 * done, Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  19:52, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Thank you. Imperial What do you want? 19:56, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Policy proposal: no commercial solicitation for survey and feedback respondents
With the survey results for Wikimedian Demographics and the feedback results for Radio Discussion in mind (but possibly other projects), I think it would be good to have a rather toothy policy banning commercial solicitations on talk pages or perhaps even through Wikiversity email. I think it would be good for people to be contacted for research purposes (for example, some surveys and radio feedback questions rate wikipedia articles, and Wikipedians might want to contact us to see how they could improve things), I don't think everyone who says their car gets bad mileage should be getting solicitations from Toyota :).

What I have in mind is something like this:

While most survey and feedback participants will be happy to answer further questions for the purpose of academic research or for the improvement of Wikimedia resources, their participation should not be interpreted as an invitation to commercial solicitations. If you engage on commercial solicitations through Wikiversity, you can expect the following consequences:
 * 1) Your account will be blocked.
 * 2) Wikiversity Checkusers will investigate your IP address, and may at their discretion block your IP or IP range.
 * 3) Wikiversity Checkusers may at their discretion share what they discover with the Checkusers of other Wikimedia projects, which in turn may bring about a global ban on your IP.
 * 4) Your website will be blacklisted on Wikiversity, meaning no links to that site will be permitted on any page.
 * 5) Your website will be reported to the Meta-Wiki for investigation.
 * 6) If the investigators on Meta-Wiki find it appropriate, your website will be blacklisted on all Wikimedia wikis, including the English Wikipedia and all projects in all languages.

In other words, do not use Wikiversity for commercial solicitation.

Does that sound OK? --SB_Johnny | talk 15:00, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

 * This strikes me as similar to the guidelines in place for original research in Wikiversity, in which we ruled out "market research". The only problem with this is always determining what exactly constitutes market or commercial research. The other thing of course is that we could not stop anyone from gleaning data from surveys and contacting people outside of Wikiversity communication channels (including Wikiversity email) - if people have given their email details on their userpages, for example. Cormaggio talk 09:02, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Johnny seemed to think I might have something to offer here so maybe one or two thoughts. I do think it would be good to have something you can point to.  Probably one of the tests of spammers (other than how many edits it takes them to place a link!) is just how argumentative they can be.

 * Maybe the points are a little lacking in any assumption of good faith - a little more delicacy might be in order. Maybe my main point would be on "reporting to Meta".  In practice it is rare that Meta volunteers would have time to check on much - there are maybe four regulars there at present and we all have a fair number of other tasks.  However a report there that does show cross wiki spamming will get our attention quickly (generally).  Equally if blacklisted there would be quite a significant impact on the website. The global blacklist is used by more than just our 700+ Wikimedia Foundation wikis (Wikipedias, Wiktionaries, etc.). All 3000+ Wikia wikis plus a substantial percentage of the 25,000+ unrelated wikis that run on our MediaWiki software have chosen to incorporate this blacklist in their own spam filtering. I do think that this may be worth pointing out as a preventative measure as it may get their attention as much as any "threats"?

 * If I can help with other info I happily will, thanks & regards --Herby talk thyme 12:02, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

User solicitations?
I have a situation where I do not solicit students at all, but they're coming out of my ears. I try to help as many as I can, but it's beginning to really suck up my time. I feel obligated never to charge for anything I've done on wiki, but this is getting ridiculous. What is appropriate in this case? TWFred 17:52, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure what you mean (what's coming out of your ears?)... you're talking about tutoring using WV? --SB_Johnny | talk 02:34, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

 * "Out of my ears" - Fred means he's overloaded with requests from students for help (Fred's the dynamo behind Technical writing). Fred, I don't know what's best here - you obviously need to rationalise what you can realistically do. The subject of asking for fees for tutoring work has come up quite regularly in the past - it could be a tricky issue, but it could do with some practical thought (and policy). Cormaggio talk 10:56, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

 * What Cormaggio says is correct. It's flattering to be contacted by strangers from around the world asking me to teach them, but since it's a writing course the workload to do this online one to one is huge.  I just can't do it.  I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this challenge.  It's a sign of our success and the impact we are making.  TWFred 11:36, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe start a help desk and make it harder to be contacted and/or redirect users to the help desk in a way that is more appealing and prominent than contacting you. --Remi 11:15, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Fred, did you think about engaging the students from your course also in this ? Perhaps some of them would like to take more responsibility by helping others - learning by teaching others ? Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  17:23, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

For discussion. TWFred 11:41, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

 * 1) Is it ethically acceptable to reply to a request from Wikiversity readers with a commercial offer?
 * 2) If so, can this somehow benefit Wikiversity? (A percentage of the fee?)
 * 3) Any sort of effort like this creates a new problem...accountability...if the teacher doesn't deliver, what is Wikiversity's liability?

 * Hi Fred, many infos you can find at General disclaimer, following is my personal view:

 * 1. I would not like commercial offers: this would e.g. open for just-profit-seeking-people ways to misuse WV for their own monetary profits - there are certainly x ways to disguise such attempts :-( Another viewpoint: Wikimedia does not want money from participants to use the resources here :-)

 * 2. everyone can donate - always (see "donate" in navigation bar) - this will profit in general wikimedia projects. Other possibilities are to support special projects her at WV, e.g. like the Sandbox Server, see also: Topic:Sandbox Server 0.5

 * 3. please see the disclaimer Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  17:23, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Mmm, asking for fees does open a whole new can of worms. In its set-up phase, Wikiversity was explicitly directed by the board to steer clear of credentials - I wonder if they were thinking of this (they never clarified their rather cryptic directive). And Erkan's right - Wikiversity will never expect people to pay to access materials, as this would be fundamentally opposed to our mission. Having said this, I would happily pay Fred if I was interested in this subject, and if that was the way to get his help - simply on the basis of what I see in the technical writing materials (same with Robert Elliott in Filmmaking). Perhaps a paid service would have to be managed by another organisation, which would organise how to establish people's credentials amongst other things, and which Wikimedia could benefit from financially. Or does such an avenue already exist? Cormaggio talk 21:35, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Fraternities?
Is there such a thing as a wikifraternity or wikisorority? Might be a good way to network and find others with common interests and learning goals...
 * Some might see the Chat as this. If there does not exist such a page here, why don't you create one ? e.g. Fraternity ? Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  17:16, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikiversity:IRC meeting:New licence for Wikiversity Beta
Hi, let me invite you to the IRC meeting which will be organized March 1, 2008 upon the discussion on the change of Wikiversity Beta license from GFDL to CC (CC-BY-3.0) as it was proposed. You can visit English page with more information via: http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:IRC_meeting:New_licence_for_Wikiversity_Beta.--Juan 20:54, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

 * The link is IRC meeting:New licence for Wikiversity Beta --mikeu talk 04:58, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

 * If that happened can wikipedia information still be embedded into wikiversity? Harriska2 00:17, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, if you have the permission by the authors from Wikipedia (the question how easy it is to achieve this is another thing). There are also other ways instead embedding e.g. to make a link to the Wikipedia article or doing a summary or if to embed to cite in the way proposed by Wikipedia. From my POV it would be better: if Wikimedia projects are not just "copies" of each other. Erkan Yilmaz ( Wikiversity:Chat,  wiki blog ) 07:37, 21 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Dagnabit, the one day I'll be away from my computer. Will there be logs?--Rayc 23:35, 22 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Regarding meeting plan there will be asked, if everyone wants the logs published, so let's just see, Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  17:40, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

 * . I won't be at the meeting, but I'd like to state that I strongly oppose this move. I'm a great fan of CC licences, but for a Wikimedia project to depart from Wikimedia practice on licencing issues seems to me to be a move which endangers the project as a whole, as well as opening up a whole load of compatibility problems. Wikimedia is already considering a compromise combination of CC-BY-SA and GFDL, and I think we should be patient and see what this brings. --McCormack 10:56, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

The meeting is underway and is being logged. --mikeu talk 19:54, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

 * The log is at http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:IRC_meeting:New_licence_for_Wikiversity_Beta/log --mikeu talk 21:35, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

A user comment entitled "I hate it"
Comment copied from Category talk:Neurobiology:

 * I hate this joke of what could have been a very valuable learning resource. I don't know enough about Neurobiology, but I know all wikiversity really needs is people arranging information that they could've gotten from anywhere, into a format that guides them through from no understanding to a full fledged comprehending individual. Both Wikipedia and currently this fail miserably at that attempt, due to their lack of a good flowing course. it's just a mess of information that is going to turn off more people than it must. --danthemango 07:55, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I think this is a comment which was nevertheless intended to apply more widely, and is one which sets us a challenge worth thinking about. It is not the first comment of its kind which has been left on WV. --McCormack 08:14, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * I am in favour of more structure on Wikiversity, structured cooperation. A terrible management concept is commitment, that is what is needed to make users like danthemango satisfied. Maybe a department for facilities is a solution, which can be aimed at making courses successfull. Users who are willing and commited to spend time and fulfill tasks in such a department or in a similar enterprise could contact me.--Daanschr 09:19, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * What Danthemango wants is a "good flowing course" - I think there are some good examples on Wikiversity like Filmmaking, but I agree that there are not many such examples. However, I would also say there are a variety of ways of making a good flowing course - using models like self-learning, supervised learning, discussion groups, etc. I'd like Danthemango and everyone else to pitch in ideas of what a successful, flowing course is (using examples from our own experience) - or simply fork/refactor something that you're interested in to make it more likely to be productive for you. As interconnected 'meta'-pages to work on these issues, I'd suggest the following:
 * Building successful courses on Wikiversity (Courses is probably best left as an overall descriptive page, rather than a workspace)
 * Building successful learning communities on Wikiversity
 * Wikiversity learning model/Discussion group
 * But, of course, the discussion can develop here too. :-) Cormaggio talk 10:39, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

See Learning Resources for a part of my reaction. --McCormack 11:00, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * That's a very useful response - and getting better all the time. :-) Thanks for this McCormack - and thanks for bringing this useful criticism into a wider light. Cormaggio talk 13:06, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

I like the page that you created McCormack. And i am willing to assist with the process.--Daanschr 17:22, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Great. Thanks! --McCormack 18:20, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * thanks for responding and I'd like to apologize for my rough statements. I adore the concept of wikiversity, and I am currently involved in paraphrasing my biology 11 and biology 12 courses (I know this isn't wikihighschool but whatever, it's learning). What I thought to do is to involve the different chapters of the course into their independant pages seperate from the concept itself (eg. I created a page called molecular biology bi11 instead of linking to the already existing molecular biology), for the sake of easy flow and ensure that the page is written for the level of the reader. thanks so much for responding and I hope together this will work.--142.25.110.50 19:18, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Your comments were on target and reflect those of others. Thanks for making us sit up and take notice! --McCormack 20:05, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

There is a couple of issues with course and content creation at Wikiversity. First, we need to recognize that everyone learns differently, and since WV is primarily text (for now) that this constrains which learners can work with our material. It's also true that all of our material are put here by people on a volunteer basis, and that this means that the material is at different level of being complete, and may never get past the Initial idea and stub page.

That said, it is a recurring theme that people feel overwhelmed and lost, and ask about directions and organization. It's always good to recognize weak areas and work to improve them. It's also important to have this kind of feedback, so that we know what is weak.

We have "help desk" in the navigation ... would something like "ask a question" help? The nav bar follows users around the site, it might be a good spot to add something. Historybuff 20:46, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * A thought struck me -- while we have multitudes of incomplete learning resources, we do have some excellent completed courses. Should we construct a "course calendar" of sorts, that somehow groups these together? I'm not sure how it would work, but if it would be useful, we can figure out the glue to make it work after. Historybuff 05:22, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Whether one calls it a course calendar or anything else, the method is this: (1) we make templates with which to tag courses (e.g. by state of completion); (2) we have a massive tagging campaign; (3) we then use the DPL tag to construct lists of these tagged courses on guide pages. I'm familiar with the technical side of this from experience, but we need a community will to push this forward. --McCormack 05:32, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Please try out the Bloom Clock Keys!
As the bloom clock enters its third northern spring, some new features have been added to help make it easier to use, whether you're a plant expert or a "neophyte" (please excuse the pun). For folks who know what they're looking at and what the scientific names are, the Master List is a fast-loading, text-only page listing plants by their scientific names (with links to the profiles and logs).

For those who don't know plants very well, participation is easy using the new Global Keys. If you see a flower of a certain color or type during a particular season, chances are that it will be shown on the keys (the majority of plants on the keys are common weeds and garden plants found throughout the world in temperate climates). Aside from learning the name of the plant (and being provided links to wikipedia and other wikimedia wikis that have more about them), you can also help collecting data by simple "logging" the plant: it's as simple as adding *~ to the logs. Just make sure to sign up on the contributors page so we know what corner of the earth you're logging from. If you log 10 or more plants during a particular month from your region, your "prize" will be a local key, which others from your region can then use to learn what plants they saw too. --SB_Johnny | talk 14:21, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Ah, looks good. What if the plant isn't on the list?--Rayc 23:36, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Huh, I forgot to copy that part from the old text lists. A plant can be added to the text list by using, then follow the red link to the "log page" and start the page with  . The template provides instructions from that point on. --SB_Johnny | talk 12:43, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Thanks for all this Johnny. As well as learning about plants and logging them, I want to help making this clock more user friendly - I think it's still quite hard for a wiki and/or plant beginner to just start logging. Any feedback here would be useful. Cormaggio talk 10:47, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

 * So far we've just been using an informal "mentoring system" (which also has the advantage of helping to build a bit of community). Writing instruction manuals has unfortunately never been my strong point, but I'd certainly like to see a good set of comprehensive instructions made up. --SB_Johnny | talk 12:43, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

School of Philosophy
can someone please start a school of philosophy or something like that?
 * see User talk:Rigosantana3, Erkan Yilmaz ( Wikiversity:Chat, wiki blog ) 17:37, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

can't help it! I corrected the spellings in this little section; no one's going take the call to action seriously, if we cannot even spell philosophy correctly.--Towers1209 20:46, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Wikiversity as a Personal Learning Environment
Two people have recently expressed a desire to make Wikiversity their personal learning environment/portal. To me, answering this question is key to making Wikiversity useful - addressing the fact that we may not have material for someone, but still try to help that person achieve their learning goals. That phrase "achieving personal learning goals" is peppered throughout many Wikiversity resources, but with no real framework for how to do this. I'd like to propose a project - Making Wikiversity a personal learning space - as a key component of the general work of Wikiversity, along with the development (and structuring) of resources, and building of communities. Essentially what I'm asking is: "how can we allow people to scaffold their own learning?" Cormaggio talk 12:54, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, I think there is no need to give them a niche or show them a way. What about to say, yeah it is possible do it how you wont, and just respond and fullfill their wishes and needs. Than after some time we can analize, which way(s) is good and which was experiencing difficulties. --Juan 16:09, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * How does this combine with "if you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly or redistributed by others, do not submit it" ? --McCormack 13:03, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, I suppose that's part of my question. :-) I think that people should be allowed to develop resources that are clearly personal, but which people can respond to and make suggestions for improving. I think Wikiversity should allow people to at least put a sign at the top of a page saying "please don't edit this, but instead make comments on the talk page" - and that this would apply beyond the idea of a personal space to anything that clearly reflects a pedagogic or other point of view. (This tag would be challengeable - and materials can always be forked as well as edited.) And of course, there is always your 'userspace', which is traditionally left for people to do what they like with (within reason, eg civility). But really, I wouldn't frame this discussion in terms of personal versus openly editable - it's more about helping people develop a space that addresses their own interests and desires, and that could pave the way for further, more collaborative work. Cormaggio talk 13:20, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, this is a good idea. What about to create a new character "student" able to lock and unlock some pages?--Juan 16:09, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * "put a sign at the top of a page" --> i.e. what we call a template, preferably marking the genre of a resource and interlinking with metadata. (Scary words italicised, because we need more of them!) --McCormack 13:23, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Yes, exactly - that's our clunky equivalent of 'tagging' :-), with categories as our sole form of metadata. Cormaggio talk 13:32, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Well, I think wikiversity comunity is on the high level of modesty, that noone edits your text or data, if you are not showing it is possible - to modify your data. I think it would be sufficient if people will just tell somewhere, that "here is place for your dicussion" and it well be. Than educated wikiversitians will just do typo correction of the text. Data which I dont wont to perform so much Ill place in my user namespace. In the case o data I dont want to redistribute - well, those can be here and mostly they are in the file format, which is not compatibile with formats available for wv.

 * Let me show you this, what I created a few weeks ago for my personal studyes:
 * User:Juan/MMech - this I used for preparation of one of my exams which had to be in English, but than I continued in my mother tongue Czech language via betawikiversity:User:Juan/Modul (mechanizace)
 * Studuju mechanizaci plantážních plodin (Juan) - this one based on school subject named "mechanization of the crops on plantations"
 * Studuju ochranu rostlin (Juan) - school exam called "plant and crop protection"
 * Studuju vektorovou grafiku (Juan) - this one - out of school - to study vector graphics, especially via InkScape
 * Studuju rybníkářství - and this about the "pond management"

 * If now, I can analyze this way, I should say that for exam preparation this system was completely useless. I was not able to fill it, because I should write and make a lot of data, which was pushing me from studiing. Even I think that for the subjects wich are e.g. in commons fully covered, we in the process of studying need something, more, which is usually present in Commons. I also promised to myself, that I will fill it by a feedback from exams - this also crashed, as I havent free time to do so (I wanted to scan all the specific pictures, I had paint within the proces of my paper studying on exams). So now I fell, that next time I need a help of other poeople. I am thinking to attract more people next time and do it collaboratively. On the other hand in personal studying of an issue, I am happy and I dont need a help. Finnally it is important to say that within both ways I was missing a community of othere students or teachers, whith whoom I could discuss my ideas and problems. Technical it was placed on on disanbugation (e.g. for the course of pond management called in Czech "Studuju rybníkářství" (means I study pond management) it was placed on disambugation page called pond managment (see via Rybníkářství)--Juan 16:09, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the feedback, Juan. I still don't understand, however, why exactly it was "useless" for your exam preparation. Could you have organised your pages differently to be more useful? Your point about needing help from other people is completely understood - my aim is not to somehow create a division between a personal and collaborative learning environment - but rather to explore how we can set up spaces which will help us learn, contribute, find resources, people etc. And on setting up a role of student who would be able to lock/unlock pages - surely this could be in the hands of anyone who wants to use it, much like other soft protection mechanisms? Cormaggio talk 16:47, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

 * It was useless, because I was not able to study nothing doing it via this way.--Juan 20:15, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

How can I start a course based group page
Hithere. I'm a postgrad from a Swedish univeristy and we're interested in exploring how wikiversity can enhance one of our postgrad courses on communication and identitity work. What is the best way of creating a group page wheren several course participants can post texts, interact over them and pen texts together, etc. Can the space be restricted to course participatns or does it have to be accessible to anyone? Thanks. Oliver, Öru.se --Oliverstjohn 09:38, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Please see Course protection policy.

 * As for the best way, there are probably multiple good ways. You could create a page with the course title, and/or add the university/department name in for specificity, or come up with something new. = ) --Remi 09:59, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Also see School and university projects for more info. --mikeu talk 12:10, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Also, you could maybe start a page like Communication and identity work at University of... and then give it header sections for texts, discussion and so forth, and interact that way. --Remi 09:55, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

Requesting a new extension for Wikiversity (do not archive until activated)
''Note: people have continued voting although the extension we are talking about now is technically the new http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SubPageList3 (with a 3 at the end) which I am working on to fix everything the devs complained about in the old one. Does anyone have a problem with applying the vote to the upgraded version? '' --McCormack 11:14, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
 * For my vote: yes (see below). As discussed in IRC: any code change - can have not yet known effects on Wikiversity. The extension was not yet tested with the Mediawiki version from this Wikiversity (1.12alpha). Perhaps testwikipedia could be asked to use it first ? So we could see there what kind of effects may happen.
 * I appreciate McCormack's work so far very much, who has given effort to improve this and help WV with it. This is just that unforeseen things may happen in relation with other (newer) software parts. Erkan Yilmaz ( Wikiversity:Chat, wiki blog ) 11:30, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Hi Erkan. The responsibility for ensuring that extensions do not cause programmatic damage does not lie with the community (thank goodness) but with the MediaWiki developers. The community votes on the basis of things like features and screenshots, taking into account educational value and achievement of the mission. The developers subsequently check the code and may require modifications for safety reasons. These are not things which the community could or should be responsible for or voting about, IMHO. --McCormack 11:43, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Discussion and voting
Going through the available MediaWiki extensions the other day, I came across this one: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SubPageList2. This is something we really need. It automatically creates internal navigation for learning projects with subpages. The extension itself creates a simple bulleted menu in its basic version, but has lots of options attached. In actual usage, some of us would build templates around the extension, so that the end-user (teacher) would place something like at the top of their pages (that's seven keys to type - very lazy), and a whole dynamic navigation system would appear for the learning project. This would pretty well revolutionize Wikiversity's ability to internally organize learning projects. To the developers: how soon can we have this? To everyone else: what do you think? --McCormack 09:36, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

 * It does sound interesting - or at least I'm trusting your judgement on it. :-) I'm not sure if requesting extensions is done through bugzilla - if it hasn't been tested before on wikimedia wikis, then I'd imagine one of the devs would have to have a look at the code... Cormaggio talk 09:13, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Sounds just what I need. --Bduke 11:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

 * I think this is a good idea. --mikeu talk 14:37, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
 * [[Image:Symbol support vote.svg|20px]] Erkan Yilmaz ( Wikiversity:Chat, wiki blog ) 17:26, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
 * But would like to see the new version: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SubPageList3 first in use somewhere . Erkan Yilmaz ( Wikiversity:Chat, wiki blog ) 11:30, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Patience, patience. I'm already moving at near light speed. ;-)  --McCormack 12:13, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
 * As requested, you can now see it. Link down below. --McCormack 18:13, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
 * [[Image:Symbol support vote.svg|20px]] --71.164.246.16 22:44, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me. --SB_Johnny | talk 00:13, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

 * My support. Anyway as Cormaggio pointed it hasn´t been tested before on wikimedia wikis, so we might be the first to enjoy its proes and contras:-)--Juan 09:38, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Looks useful and prudent. --Remi 06:42, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

 * This does not appear to meet my needs for structured lesson pages for a course. --Robert Elliott 02:25, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

All active participants in the Greek Wikiveristy have voted in favor of the activation of the extension. If the bugs/problems you are mentioning are fixed, we will be happy to have the ability to use it in el.wv. I wish I could help you with the cleanup :( . [Here is the link of our voting. --[[Image:Assassingr_signature.svg]]-- (profile|chit chat|email) 12:02, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Belated, but I vote my support for this extension too. I've read the developer's response. It will take some work, but I believe it would be a valuable addition to the functionality of wikiversity. TWFred 17:54, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Similarly belated vote in support of implementing this extension in Wikiversity. Countrymike 01:41, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Technical requests
McCormack: is it possible (to implement) to sort the subpages after time of last edit ? Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  22:22, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

 * There will be future updates to this extension IF the initial version is approved and activated by Brion Vibber. --McCormack 06:05, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Response from the developers
The developers have initially rejected this request on the basis of the internal programming of the extension. Although the extension is listed on MediaWiki and based on a (now de-listed) extension by a MediaWiki developer, it has had some code additions which the current developers do not like. The report below suggests that this is fixable, but we would have to clean up the extension code ourselves. The rejection note is attached below. Do any programmers want to help me clean up the code? --McCormack 05:13, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I've done a quick review of this extension: - Unused variables in several places, including variables that get filled with data using string operations (line 547) - The content of the subpages will be loaded even if no preview is  requested (lines 567ff). This costs a lot of ressources. - Odd code: if ( $this->debug || $this->debug == 1 ) { (line 276). The "|| $this->debug == 1" part is superfluous. Overall, I don't think that we should activate this code. JeLuF

Current developments
I have started a new extension at mw:Extension:SubPageList3 to clean up the old code and make it acceptable. --McCormack 18:47, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

 * For those who asked, and anyone else, you can view examples of the almost finished new version at http://www.qedoc.org/en/index.php?title=Subpagelist_Extension. Please note that extension testing has to take place away from Wikimedia servers, which explains the external link. Comments can be left either just below or at mw:Extension:SubPageList3. --McCormack 18:12, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

 * If you still need assistance, let me know. I have a little time here and there, and can help in code reviews or testing. Historybuff 06:22, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

Update: the current state of affairs is that the extension is now sitting on SVN waiting for activation. Quite a lot of Mediawiki developers have reviewed and helped with the code, bringing it up to their standards of expectation, and the extension was also internationalised (the Greek WV will be happy about that one). However it's not certain yet - the main developers still have to OK this. --McCormack 08:30, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

Another update: the code has now been reviewed by the main developers. Changes were requested and made. So as of today the extension is once again queued up for an "OK" or "not OK" to be issued. --McCormack 12:26, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Update for May: The extension was reviewed at the end of March and then OK'd (verbally) for activation and shortlisted for activation at the beginning of April. It was then forgotten, as was the review. At the end of April the extension was re-queued for review (see creation of new page at https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/mediawiki/wiki/Review_queue#Extensions), since when no action has been taken. --McCormack 13:34, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Reminder posted to Wikimedia. --McCormack 09:05, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Update for June 2008: I think we have now reached the stage where we can say with some certainty that the Wikimedia Foundation is absolutely incapable of supporting small sister projects reasonably as regards technical innovation. On the one hand, it was very positive just how many of the experienced developers were able to help with this very minor extension and get it completely finished within a short space of time. On the other hand, it was extraordinarily negative how, once a tiny, harmless extension was queued for activation, it just got "buried" for ever - probably for no better reason than the unimportance of Wikiversity compared to the overwhelming demands of Wikipedia. This entire activation procedure has been such a joke that I wouldn't dream of wasting my time programming any more widget extensions to help Wikiversity. --McCormack 06:07, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Messages to archivebot

 * Do not archive. --McCormack 14:11, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Wiki Campus Radio -- Reloaded
I'm launching a drive to get Wiki Campus Radio back off the ground.

My main focus right now is to get this session, or some facsimile, to happen, to kick off the party. Once this bit gets launched, I'm going to open up the airwaves, or podwaves, so that we can use this as a wider community.

I'm being bold, and I hope that I can make arrangements to deploy this wide and far, and in a robust and open manner. I don't think this is undoable. In fact, we have most of the basic pieces already working, to one degree or another. We need a spot to integrate them, and move things forward. I'm hoping we can find a home for this on the Sandbox Server, either sooner or eventually.

So, what do we need? Guinea Pigs^H^H^H^H^H participants willing to try new software with an open mind. We also need sound editors, maybe someone who can program or write computer scripts? (I can do all of this, but I'd like to have more people help, so more people can help run this, and more learning goes on). Basically, anything for audio/audiobooks would help.

We _may_ have some test sessions, but the goal is to develop some content which we can feed out to the world, either for Learning Projects or as bits to tell people that Wikiversity exists. Historybuff 22:58, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Thanks Historybuff. I'll state for the record that my experiences with Asterisk (the software 'on trial') have been not great so far - however, this might be down to issues with my computer and/or internet connection. I think people who are part of the test phase will have to be patient - and I think it needs to be considered a test phase - from my experience, we're not yet ready to plan a session as above and be relatively sure that we'll all be able to hear each other ok. I don't mean this feedback to be negative - au contraire - I really hope we can get this working well soon. :-) Cormaggio talk 10:43, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Histo, as I see you asked begin of February about ssh access on the sandbox server. What happened with it ? Regarding the mails apparently nothing :-(
 * Count me in for (test) sessions. Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  17:37, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Me too (unless it's this Saturday)--Rayc 23:13, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Erkan - I haven't heard anything solid, but a brief IRC chat indicated it was possible.

Rayc, Erkan: Do you have times that would be good? Due to a computer problem, I've lost access to a Time converting tool I was working on, but I'm EST (I think that is UTC - 5). Please let me know when would be good.

Cormaggio: I don't think our recent chat is indicative of the quality that is achievable with Asterisk. Most of our testing up until now, the main issue hasn't been hearing each other, but simple things like getting it set up and lag from one particular participant. That isn't to say we won't have any further issues, or that I'm unwilling to consider using other software. I'm actually hoping to get our solution solid enough to work with "alternative" software such as Skype and others, and even the Public Telephone system.

Your point about patience is definitely on point here, though. No matter which software we try, it'll take patience from participants. This is definitely a learning project, and while the end result might be something we use as a tool at Wikiversity, we'll have to learn how to use it first. Historybuff 20:29, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
 * "Do you have times that would be good?" I live in a timezone with UTC+1. Preferring times in the evening. Contact me in IRC, for faster coordination always. Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  06:49, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Hi Erkan, UTC+1.. I think that means mid-afternoon here, which would be early eve there might work. I had some technical details to work out on this, and I think we're in good shape now. So, all we need is time, and we'll be good to go. Historybuff
 * Find me in IRC then, Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  16:36, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

 * I should have some more time to focus on this after March 25. So, should we aim for March 26 for a session? :)
 * Right now I'm going to attack this from two sides. I'd like to develop a feedback system, where people can comment/leave a message about something. In parallel, I'll be trying to put together actual programs. This will allow people who can work on a specific schedule the ability to participate, and those who can't hold to a schedule or our chosen schedule isn't good for will also be able to participate. Historybuff 20:00, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * As said, I am available :-) I would say we talk again the day before.
 * I am also thinking to use it (once) in the reading group: Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War. Will ask what the others think, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 22:33, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Wow, I'm actually back. This week is a bit hectic, but I can try and schedule a session. And Erkan, I'd love to try and facilitate a session fo your reading group. I did notice one participant complained about not having sound on his computer; depending on location, we might be able to connect him by PSTN.
 * Anyone have a suggestion as to a date? I'm leaning towards the middle of next week (say Wed), but if people have a strong preference we can do it before that. Historybuff 17:01, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Well the reading group does the sessions Saturdays usually. I put it on the agenda for this week, so perhaps on 5th February ? but first we will see what the others say.
 * PSTN: nice Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 18:47, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Hey Erkan, I'm assuming you mean April 5th, unless you have the new Gmail time shifter already installed and working. :P
 * I think that is a good target date. I can block off an hour or so, and am fairly flexible with time. Anyone else want to join in? Historybuff 06:13, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I doubt the 5th April will work. We didn't come to talk about that - too busy with other things, Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 17:01, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

 * I've tried downloading and listening to a web cast, yet it was in such poor quality that I couldn't listen to it for too long. I think a campus radio for WV is a wonderful idea, why not do it better? EugenSpierer 07:49, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Some of the quality issues are related to the microphone of the user who is speaking. We've also had some (recent) issues with audio transmissions and reliability of the participants in hearing everyone. I hope that we're close to working the various kinks out. Please keep the comments coming, this is all about learning, improving, and doing better. Historybuff 18:56, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

 * Maybe the people involved in this project could help by also contributing to some lessons learned from attempts to do this. Like tips to improve audio sound quality, like what microphones have been observed to give better sound quality, what compressions should be avoided, etc. --dark[[Image:Yin yang.svg|12px]]lama 19:31, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Im also keen to get WCR back up and running, I think our completed session with Leigh Blackall was fairly good. Ive been doing a side project using asterisk and icecast so Im familiar with how to install and configure it, if people want to use it for testing/practise that would be fine with me. You can usually find me on irc.Chrismo 13:44, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Ok, school assignments are done. I was also doing some things related to WMF, and was promoting WV in real life when I got a chance. I'll post a bit more about that to come.
 * I have some time, I want to get this going. So, I'm going to be bold and get the basic framework set up, probably this weekend. I'll schedule a session, and if no one comes, I'll sing and dance. Or, figure something out. :) And we'll schedule some more.
 * I'm also going to be revamping the actual wiki pages, as they are a bit long in the tooth. If anyone has some suggestions, I'd love to hear them. And as always, your participation is appreciated and asked for. I'll update progress here. Historybuff 18:22, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

usable in a kick-off-meeting?
Hi Histo, this here could be another usage scenario for the WCR - what do you think ? Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) PS: Tag a learning project with completion status !! 22:44, 1 June 2008 (UTC)


text:
Dating rock

Relative dating is based on the Principal of Original horizontality, Lateral Continuity, Law of superposition and Faunal Succession and is described as the theory that layers of sedimentary rock are layed in the order of older at the bottom to younger at the top. And the occurance of a species who live for short periods of time and can unit different strata localities into a specific time period.

Absolute dating, by using radiation via isotopes to analyse radioactive decay. This is good to analyse recently fossilised organisms via C-14. For longer periods the sediment itself must be analysed, this would give a date for the original material, like an ignious rock formation that is eroded but not the present sedimentary rock.

Optically stimulated luminescence, uses the last time that light from the sun reached the material. This only works for burried material

Radiometric dating uses radioactive decay like Uranium-thorium dating the time since burial that the uranium has decayed to thorium.

Related resources

 * Age of the Earth

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Dating rock


text:
User talk:Mr.adam2008

Welcome
Hello Mr.adam2008, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  06:58, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Spanish Language Division
Hello Mr. Adam, I saw your registration in the Spanish Language Division. I joined to the project few days ago, and now, I am updating the lists of participants. So, I wonder if you are still interested in it. Thanks you. Akhram 10:05, 16 April 2008 (UTC).

title: User talk:Mr.adam2008


title: User:Justin545


text:
User talk:Ainoa

Welcome
Hello Ainoa, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  16:08, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

title: User talk:Ainoa


text:
User talk:Manna~enwikiversity

Welcome
Hello Manna, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may
 * Take a guided tour and learn to edit;
 * Explore our learning projects;
 * Browse our portals, schools, and research activities;
 * Read and help develop our community policies；or
 * Chat with other Wikiversitans on #wikiversity-en.

And don't forget to explore Wikiversity with the links to your left. Be bold, and see you around Wikiversity! Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  16:09, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Spanish Language Division
Hello Manna, I saw your registration in the Spanish Language Division. I joined to the project few days ago, and now, I am updating the lists of participants. So, I wonder if you are still interested in it. Thanks you. Akhram 09:59, 16 April 2008 (UTC).

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Manna. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Manna~enwikiversity that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 23:38, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 06:15, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Manna~enwikiversity


text:
User:Petermerckx

Hello everybody my name is Peter. I am an education consultant and I have my own company called www.bweducconsult.org Hope we will have a nice course. Peter

title: User:Petermerckx


text:
Topology/Lesson 2

So in the first lesson we learned what a topology is, what open sets, closed sets, and bases are. You should be comfortable with these concepts before beginning this second lesson.

Continuous Function
We will define the notion of a continuous function below. (Note that in topological texts and papers it is common to use the word 'map' and even the word 'function' to mean a continuous function. To avoid ambiguity, in this course we will reserve the word 'function' to mean any function, but will use 'map' to mean a continuous function.)

Definition
Let $$(X,\mathcal T_X)$$ and $$(Y,\mathcal T_Y)$$ be topological spaces. A function $$f:X\to Y$$ is called continuous if for every $$U\in \mathcal T_Y,$$ we have $$f^{-1}(U)\in \mathcal T_X.$$ That is, f is continuous iff the f-preimage of every open set (in $$Y$$) is open (in $$X$$).

Examples
It is immediate from the definition that the following two types of functions are always continuous. The proof of these two claims is left as an exercise.
 * 1) If $$X$$ is a discrete space and $$Y$$ is any space, then any function $$f:X\to Y$$ is continuous.
 * 2) If $$X$$ is any space and $$Y$$ has the indiscrete topology, then any function $$f:X\to Y$$ is continuous.

Continuous at a point
It is also possible to talk about a function being continuous at a point of its domain. So, given a map $$f:X\to Y$$ and a point $$x_0\in X$$ we say that $$f$$ is continuous at $$x_0$$ if given any neighborhood $$V\subset Y$$ of $$f(x_0)$$ there is a neighborhood $$U\subset X$$ of $$x_0$$ such that $$f(U)\subset V.$$

Exercises
Let $$f:X\to Y$$ be a function. Show that the following are equivalent.
 * 1) $$f$$ is continuous.
 * 2) $$f$$ is continuous at $$x_0$$ for all $$x_0\in X.$$
 * 3) For any closed set $$A\subset Y,$$ we have $$f^{-1}(A)\subset X$$ is closed in $$X.$$
 * 4) If $$\mathcal B$$ is a basis for $$Y$$ then for any set $$B\in \mathcal B$$ we have $$f^{-1}(B)$$ is open in $$X.$$

Open maps
The definition of a continuous map may seem awkward. Since it is a morphism in the category of topological spaces, one would expect it to preserve some property about open sets, but what one might first think is that open sets are preserved under the map of the function. But this gives a different concept.

Definition (open map)
Let $$f:X\to Y$$ be a continuous function. Then we say that $$f$$ is an open map if for any open set $$U\subset X$$ we have $$f(U)$$ is open in $$Y.$$

Merely for the purposes of the discussion here, define an open function to be a function (not necessarily continuous) $$f:X\to Y$$ such that $$f(U)$$ is open in $$Y$$ whenever $$U$$ is open in $$X.$$

Exercises

 * 1) Construct finite-point spaces $$X$$ and $$Y$$ and a map $$f:X\to Y$$ that is continuous but not open.
 * 2) Construct another function $$f:X\to Y$$ that is not continuous but is an 'open function'.
 * 3) Show that the identity map $$id:X\to X$$ is always continuous and open.
 * 4) Suppose that $$\mathcal T_1$$ and $$\mathcal T_2$$ are two distinct topologies on the set $$X.$$ Suppose that the identity map $$id:(X,\mathcal T_1)\to (X,\mathcal T_2)$$ is continuous. Show that $$\mathcal T_2\subset \mathcal T_1.$$ In this case, we say that $$\mathcal T_1$$ is finer than $$\mathcal T_2$$ or that $$\mathcal T_2$$ is coarser than $$\mathcal T_1.$$

Homeomorphism
The "isomorphism" or "equivalence" of topological spaces is called "homeomorphism." This is analogous to bijection in the case of sets and group isomorphism in the case of groups. Topologically speaking, two spaces are indistinguishable if they are homeomorphic.

Definition
Let $$f:X\to Y.$$ Then we say that $$f$$ is a homeomorphism if it is bijective and both $$f$$ and $$f^{-1}$$ are continuous. In this case we say that $$X$$ and $$Y$$ are homeomorphic and sometimes write $$X\cong Y$$ or $$X\simeq Y.$$

Examples

 * 1) If $$X$$ is any topological space then the identity map $$id_X:X\to X$$ is a homeomorphism.
 * 2) If $$f:X\to Y$$ is injective and $$f$$ and $$f^{-1}$$ are both continuous then $$f$$ is called an embedding. In this case the map $$g:X\to f(X)$$ given by $$g(x)=f(x)$$ is a homeomorphism.  That is, an embedding is a homeomorphism with its image in the target space.
 * 3) The map $$f:(-1,1)\to \mathbb{R}$$ given by $$f(x)=\tan\left(\frac{\pi}{2}x\right)$$ is a homeomorphism.

Exercises
Next Lesson
 * 1) Show that the maps given in the examples are indeed homeomorphisms.
 * 2) Show that if $$f:X\to Y$$ is a homeomorphism then $$f^{-1}:Y\to X$$ is also a homeomorphism.
 * 3) Show that if $$X$$ is homeomorphic to $$Y$$ and $$Y$$ is homeomorphic to $$Z$$ then $$X$$ is homeomorphic to $$Z.$$ Note that these first 3 exercises show that homeomorphism is an equivalence relation.

title: Topology/Lesson 2


text:
Worldpolitics

Worldpolitics is a reading group dedicated to major political issues worldwide.

Activities
Possible activities:
 * Looking for texts (or other media)
 * Discussing these

Participants

 * User:Daanschr
 * User:jolie

Hubert Sauper: Darwin's Nightmare
Hubert Sauper

Hubert Sauper is an Austrian filmmaker. He has a postmodern view on filmmaking, meaning that he is a strong sense of perspectivism. He countered the massive antipathy towards his documentary Darwin's Nightmare, on the influence of capitalism on the lifestyle of people living on Lake Victoria in Tanzania, by stating that he has manipulated the documentary as every documentary maker does, by choosing the subjects which he did and by arranging some film effects, like filming someone at night instead of during the day in order to gain a desired effect. Sauper says that the film could have been made on several third world countries. He merely chose Tanzania.

Darwin's Nightmare

The reason for the enormous antipathy, has to do with the messages that Sauper tries to tell the world. The Unique habitat of Lake Victoria is being destroyed by a new fish. There are several species of fish, but they are getting extinct. The new fish has been put in Lake Victoria in order to catch them for the industry. Fish is being sold to Europe for consumption. The fishermen who catch the fish have to work in such bad condition that many of them drown on the lake. Working in the fishing industry doesn't pay enough money to raise a family, so the women are forced to work as prostitutes and die of AIDS. Children often have to live on the streets. Many areas around the lake are suffering from hunger. These people eat the rest of the fish caught on the lake. European countries give aid to the fishing industry, because they see it as a positive development towards a modern society in Tanzania. Strangely enough, the local population earns nothing of the profit of the industry. Airplanes carry loads of fish to Europe, but it is unknown what is coming back. One Ukrainian pilot (many of which die of AIDS) tells at the end that most of the cargos back to Africa are filled with weapons, and a minor portion is with food to help the hungry people.

Some thoughts for discussion
 * (update) An inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. Describes the climate disaster that we are facing.
 * (update) Earth: The Power of the Planet by Iain Stewart on the BBC. Is mainly on the beauty of earth but also warns for the annihilation of human kind due to the fast way in which humans change their own natural habitat.
 * (update) Jeffrey Sachs interviewed by Joris Luyendijk on Nederland 2. The interview is in English with dutch subtitles. (It is not yet online)
 * This year, i was in Ecuador in the Yasuni National Park. Yasuni is the largest park of Ecuador, in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. Recently, oil companies have build raods deep into the jungle. Poor Ecuadorians have emigrated to the jungle en masse and live beside these roads. 25% of the jungle has been gone. Local indians in Yasuni National Park have been chased away by the oil company. This is a second example of the state of our world.
 * Natives in Brazil, who have never had first-contact with 'civilization' have a good chance to be introduced by employees of big corporations. These employees have a tendency to kill these natives with machine guns. If the natives aren't killed, than the place would automatically become a national park. If there aren't natives, than they can do what they want. The natives are not known yet to civilization, so nobody would miss them when they are gone. Also, they live in very remote areas, so nobody will hear or witness the murders, except for the employees of these corporations.
 * What are the motives of people to continue these destructive behaviours?
 * Overpopulation. The hunger and deforestation is often due to increasing population growth. The excess of humans destroys natural habitats, thereby dangerously changing the earth's climate, of which the effects can't be determined clearly by scientists. Many mechanisms of climate change are unknown. Especially religion plays a large role, since many muslim and christian populations are very strong in advocating child birth. The fishing industry in Tanzania shows us the combination of industrialism combined with a severe lack of wealth and welfare. Excess population is able to stay alive in such an industry, but in inhumane circumstances. It should be noted however that enough food could be produced for 24 billion people. Russia has a lot of land was used for agriculture, but which stands barren now. At present, the free market economy ensures hunger to continue, because products are only made and transported if something is produced in return.
 * The problem of overpopulation is that measurements to improve living conditions can become pointless, due to the ever-growing population. It could lead to mass-starvation. Given the free market system, the western world will be effected by this. Many products that could be produced in the west are being made in poorer countries, because of low income. Gertrude Himmelfarb (see above) claims that the worldpopulation is getting lower and that people should have more children.
 * Two solutions for overpopulation are birth control and innovation. The last with the hope to improve the living conditions of people in such a way that they will make less children as in the west. The pope is against fighting poverty in Latin America, because people should focus on heaven instead of the temporary life on earth.
 * The ideal of progress and the ideal of having the right to earn a decent living.
 * A major motive of the destruction done by oil companies in Ecuador, major agricultural corporations in Brazil, the fishing industry in Tanzania has to do with the idea that it would make the world better. It is perceived that this is the way the economy will grow and people can afford a nicer way of living. Actually, this effect is short-sighted and dubious, because the destruction of our natural habitat can have a major impact in the future, while the progress is only temporary.
 * Earning a decent way individually can be another motive. Earning a decent living is temporary. People have to organize their environment in order to be able to satisfy their needs. Also, it is defended that people who work hard, or who are very succesfull in a trade are able to earn a lot for their excellence.
 * This kind of progress is crude and won't work. There need to be more communication between humans in order to come to real progress. This is the solution that Sauper is in favour of. People hardly communicate with eachother, but are very dependent due to trade relationships. Internet could help by establishing communication networks.
 * Inhumanity is a major concern. Managers of corporations who determine to earn money by killing natives, employees who kill these natives, western producers of weapons, African elites that buy weapons instead of resources for the local population all share a clear lack of humanity. A characteristic of these kind of people is that they don't want to be perceived as evil. In our liberal world, that means that they want to keep their acts hidden. Liberal-minded journalists and concerned citizens ensure that their deeds become known. Inhumane people can be egoistic, wanting to satisfy their personal needs, without caring for all other people. They can be elitist, defending their family, friends and class and do like they are respectable citizens with good manners. They can be racist or nationalistic, trying to things for their own kind and don't mind hurting others. Also, many religions and ideologies are deemed to be only able to survive if if a hard hawkish policy is being pursued.

 * Europe versus Africa; rich versus poor.
 * On the television, i saw a program about the friendship between a Dutchman and a Senegalese. The Senegalese man had lived in Amsterdam, illegally, for 5 years and went back to Africa, being a rich man. In Holland, many illegal immigrants are very unhappy with suicidal tendencies. They expect Europe to be a paradise and discover it is not the case. Also this Senegalese man had this problem. Illegal immigrants have to fear to be discovered by the police and sent back home. They perceive Dutch society as hostile.
 * In Africa, people watch television and are able to see European wealth. That is why they think of Europe as a paradise. Besides, Europeans give a lot of aid to Africans. Africans want to flee from their hell on earth by going to the continent where the aid is coming from. Many emigrants return to Africa with wealth, thereby contributing to the local economy.
 * There is a huge braindrain of specialists, like doctors, from Africa to wealthier places. These specialists want to earn a better income and live in a more accomodated society.
 * A Lot of popular genre of songs that reach the top of the music charts in West-Africa are suicide songs. These songs describe life as a hell and prefer being dead over living. Many Africans flee to Europe, and don't mind dying during the trip, claiming they will die of hunger when they stay home.
 * Emigrants are required to be succesful, if they come home to Africa without money, than they will be seen as losers. The Senegalese man came back wealthy, and everybody came to ask him for money. He was supposed to share all his wealth. When he refused many, they got angry with him. So, even when someone retreats home succesfully, he will be treated without enthusiasm.
 * Theory on African elitism: African elites have little regard for the needs of the common men. Perhaps it has to do with the enormous pressure of common people for whom life is a major struggle for daily survival. For a happy family life with a customary satisfaction of daily needs, it is needed to be part of an exclusive inner circle. These inner circle will not be haunted by people who try to survive. Elites are suffering from a constant threat to lose their power and the base of their wealth. The common population has no interest with this concern and the elites can't do anything to adress the suffering, and this leads to alienation between the elite and the wider population in Africa.
 * Happiness and poverty. In a book on centenials, i read about a Dutch woman who was young 100 years ago. Europe was much poorer back then, somehow comparable with present third world countries. She was amiguous about the present wealth in Europe. Poverty is terrible, so it is good to live in a wealthy society. But, she said that people don't sing loudly anymore on the street or are openly laughing. Somehow, wealthiness reduces the ability to share feelings with others.

 * Aid organizations are dependent on attention from the media on humanitarian crises. Humanitarian crises often occur in areas dominated by armed forces who caused the crises itself. In order for aid organizations to help those who suffer, they have to give a lot of aid to these armed forces. This aid helps armed forces to continue the war.

itulip.com

 * Itulip.com is an American website for investors. It tries to give the best investment strategies for common investors. The makers of this website were fed up with the many lies that were told by many representatives of the financial world and government officials on economy in America. Collectively, they tried to seek out the truth in order to determine where your money can be the safest. A problem with investing is that money can dissapear without a trace, if you don't invest wisely.
 * (Update: Article on the kind of crises we can get. The present crises could be worse than the crises of the 1930s.)
 * (Update: This article gives a decent summary of the recent changes in thinking about economics. According to the writer, who is the owner of Itulip, we are now at a turning point in economic thought. Economic thought will change considerably and neoliberalism will disappear in his view.)
 * (Update: We are now at a breaking point. Present economy will change from now on and the whole text i wrote here is rapidly becoming outdated. This could also shed a whole new light on the two articles above on on the views of Himmelfarb and Sauper.)
 * (Update: The main reason for the present credit crunch is not the problem on the house markets, but the war on Iraq. The American government is paying the war with credit, which cost 3 billion dollars already. The economic result of the Iraq war will be that American consumers will be less able to consume in the coming years. This will lower the cost for labour in America, so jobs will be created at the cost of the rest of the world. Which will have consequences for the economy worldwide. In the end, all consumers in the world will pay for the war on Iraq.)
 * (Update: Some British sense of humour.)
 * Itulip gives a grim picture of the present economy in the west. The free market counts for common people, but at the top-level there are is a lot of government intervention. One of the active participants on the Itulip forum sees America as a kind of Soviet Union where apparatshiks rule and the common population is mislead to think to live in a country with a free economy.
 * At the moment, the economy of America is at the verge of a major recession. American banks have lost trust in eachother. They are afraid that if they lend money to eachother, the money will be lost. The Federal Reserve has made an end to all control on money lending in the 1990s, which created a huge money bubble (favourite word on Itulip). Also, China and other countries lend a lot of money to America. America will become less wealthy as it is now in the coming decades and the economic system or the mentality of the American elite has to change, in order to bring back trust.
 * In the meanwhile, the economic growth in the Third World and the ever rising worldpopulation is getting its consequences in the rising prices of food and commodities. Oil is getting more and more expensive due to a lack of production. Shell thinks that it will take a couple of years before energy is cheaper again. There are many alternatives to the present sources of energy.

 * What is the best way to organize the economy?
 * If a choice has to be made between America and the Soviet Union in the 1980s, than it would be easy. The Soviet Union had a deteriorating economy, that couldn't even produce enough food and America had the most flexible and the most modern economy of all ages. And an economy which was expanding at a rate which was faster than ever. The economic problems were the main reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union, as can be seen by the discussions that took place in the Polit Buro of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.
 * Still an easy choice for America is not enough, because why would the succesfull economy of all ages suddenly be heading towards a disaster? Economists say that the American economy is flexible, but it is a big gamble as well. Many possible disasters are being avoided with temporary solutions and this can be repeated untill all temporary solutions are done and than there can be a major collapse. Of course, due to the flexibility, the economy will be growing again in the long run.
 * In the Soviet Union there was a large state which ruled the entire economy. This was the main reason for the economic deterioration. The elite didn't help to develop the society and critical institutions were not maintained. In the west, many critical institutions, like food supply are handled by the invisible hand of the economy. The free market is essential for a succesfull economy.
 * At the moment there is a crises where a lack of trust is apparent. Neoliberal economics needs economic growth to make high risks profitable. Now, the economy is decreasing so banks tend to become defensive in order to prevent a risk to lose money. Perhaps the state is needed to repair trust. Problem is, the state is already intervening on a major scale, using tax money to safe business.
 * A theory on the problems of this moment is that there is a lack of transparancy and responsibility by the economic elite. To deal with difficult economic problems requires an elite which is dedicated to the welfare of common citizens and is willing to ensure that the society invests in critical institutions, like education and welfare. This can be perfectly done in a free market economy.
 * The benefit of the state is to bring security when the free market fails. Therefore it is good to have a strong and reliable state. The best recipe for success in the society is to have a state dedicated to the welfare of common citizens and not a state which builds up a major army like in the USA.

Itulip.com and Sustainability?

 * www.itulip.com is an interesting website, but I wonder if those that have analyzed have missed still other even more underlying causes. Sustainability is a topic that is currently widely being studied.  Much in the world's economics is rooted unsustainable resource extraction.  There is consumption of materials that cannot be renewed at the rate of consumption (if indeed at all).  It might seem unlikely that environmental limitations would explain financial contractions but consider the issue of resource extraction in the America.

 * America has depleted its resources rather rapidly and in nearly every aspect harvested or extracted resources unsustainably. Therefore companies extracting those resources have moved to other countries.  What began as just a loss of jobs in extracting resources such as wood, lumber and metals would progress to jobs using those resources (since it is more economic to ship finished products than resources to other countries. That creates a technological need in those countries (extracting resources) and leads to more technological development.  Lastly, jobs in finance are in peril because there is no longer enough income required to complete the transactions of individuals whom were relied upon the current level of business development.

Financial instruments by design are instruments that tend to conserve the future availability of money. These instruments ,call them debts, were made in eras of high profitability due to the sale of unsustainable resource extraction. One worrisome thought for any American, is that our federal government is, in this context, An financial instrument used to guarentee furture availability of money. Could it default?

 * Since some of our efforts seem unsustainable? the question arises that has long intrigued philosophers- what will happen as we globally deplete resources? Even within my own industry, there is controversy about the potential reserves of petroleum.  Still there seems an expansion of drilling and more oil is produced than at any time in our history.  however some critics charge that misleading information is given about this and still others point to the undeniable future reality... petroleum production cannot be continued at ever higher amounts forever.  prices have rose, creating financial incentives for additional production.  This is somewhat artificial, we make it Look like there is more oil because we take more money out of the economy for it.  but the money or value must come from somewhere.

I think these issues underly the debate about financial speculation. at this point I do not have too much on this source data on this. Sustainability is talked about in wikipedia hereSustainability.

I have compared and contrasted some of itulip/sustainability. I intend to keep on digging. I also wanted to relate it a little to a personal project. this could be interesting.--Jolie 15:33, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

 * I agree with you. Itulip is mainly focused on maintaining the economic system and wants to reform this system by producing more products instead of consuming Chinese products on debt.
 * What will probably happen when resources deplete in a world with an ever growing population is mass-starvation. Perhaps billions of people will die when oil is done, because a lot of the food worldwide is produced thanks to oil. America has a large area for food production and a highly organized country, with a high amount of educated people, so America will probably not suffer from this pandemic, though wealth will decline. Present resources should be used to modernize the whole economy to base it on durable resources. I think major government intervention is important to make this transition happen, of course aided by the free market. If the free market keeps on getting a free ride, resources will be depleted before durable resources are implemented. The present credit crunch could be beneficial in halting the depletion of resources.

 * I would like to reorganize this page, otherwise it will be too much of a mess. Discussion can be held on the talk page ;-).--Daanschr 09:17, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

 * There is also a Wikiversity article on sustainability.--Daanschr 15:33, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Science fiction?
New advances in science could create a complete new world with new issues. Believe in a major change of human life due to science was huge in the 1960s and 1970s. But, many visions of the future have not emerged, like that all people would own an airplane in 2000. We are still stuck with many people suffering from hunger instead.

Maybe, major progresses in artificial intelligence will be the start of a complete change of human society or even of humans themselves. Evolution could speed up due to technology and create cyborg mutants. Of course this future perspective is very questionable.

check out for some musings about the future. they do some pretty farfetched thinking about stuff like brain transplants, self-replicating robots, etc. Pretty wild stuff. I question wether any of it happen because of the difficulty in cost, infrastructure, further technical advances, etc.

I think that socio-economic limitations are greatly underestimated in future visionaries. Nevertheless we could talk about some things that seem more likely and things that seem more difficulty. Many visionaries still think that humanity will enter space and colonize it. --Jolie 18:05, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

 * I can't find the documentary that i saw on the television a few months ago. But here are some things that were in the documentary and related things:
 * José Manuel Rodriguez Delgado
 * Visual prosthesis
 * Artificial intelligence
 * Technological singularity
 * I can't remember much anymore of this documentary. It is too long ago.--Daanschr 09:19, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

title: Worldpolitics


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Talk:Topology/Lesson 1

The existence of the fancy boxes make the page a little too rigid. I find it difficult to add a section; and they make it harder for new-comers to contribute. Hillgentleman|Talk 22:51, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't mind converting it all to look like standard wiki style, like Lesson 2 is currently, if you think that'd be better. I'm not particularly attached to the boxes, I was just playing around with it to see how I/others liked it.  Gandalfxviv 20:58, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

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User:Suicidalhamster

Wikipedia user page - Wikisource user page - Commons user page Wikiquote user page - Wikinews user page - Meta user page - Wikispecies user page - Wikibooks user page - Wiktionary user page - Multi-lingual Wikisource user page - Wikiversity user page

title: User:Suicidalhamster


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Crystal Methods

Introduction
Crystal methods are a family of methodologies (the Crystal family) that were developed by Alistair Cockburn in the mid-1990s. The methods come from years of study and interviews of teams by Cockburn. Cockburn’s research showed that the teams he interviewed did not follow the formal methodologies yet they still delivered successful projects. The Crystal family is Cockburn’s way of cataloguing what they did that made the projects successful.

Crystal methods are considered and described as “lightweight methodologies”. The use of the word Crystal comes from the gemstone where, in software terms, the faces are a different view on the “underlying core” of principles and values. The faces are a representation of techniques, tools, standards and roles.

Methodology, techniques, and policies are differentiated between by Cockburn:
 * Methodology - set of elements (e.g. practices, tools)
 * Techniques - skill areas (e.g. developing use cases)
 * Policies - dictate organizational musts

Crystal methods are focused on:
 * 1) People
 * 2) Interaction
 * 3) Community
 * 4) Skills
 * 5) Talents
 * 6) Communications

Cockburn says that Process, while important, should be considered after the above as a secondary focus. The idea behind the Crystal Methods is that the teams involved in developing software would typically have varied skill and talent sets and so the Process element isn’t a major factor.

Since teams can go about similar tasks in different ways, the Crystal family of methodologies are very tolerant to this which makes the Crystal family one of the easiest agile methodologies to apply.

In his research, Cockburn [1999], he defines behaviour of people in teams:
 * “People are communicating beings, doing best face-to-face, in person, with real-time question and answer.”
 * “People have trouble acting consistently over time.”
 * “People are highly variable, varying from day to day and place to place.”
 * “People generally want to be good citizens, are good at looking around, taking initiative, and doing ‘whatever is needed’ to get the project to work.”

The points above are why Crystal methods are so flexible and why they avoid strict and rigid processes typically found in older methodologies.

The Crystal Family
Cockburn developed the different methods in the family of methodologies to suit teams of different sizes which need different strategies to solve diverse problems.

The Crystal family of methodologies use different colours to denote the “weight” of which methodology to use. If a project were a small one a methodology such as Crystal Clear, Crystal Orange or Crystal Yellow may be used or if the project was a mission-critical one where human life could be endangered then the methods Crystal Diamond or Crystal Sapphire would be used.

The family is divided into different colours. Some examples:
 * 1) Crystal Clear
 * 2) Crystal Yellow
 * 3) Crystal Orange
 * 4) Crystal Orange Web
 * 5) Crystal Red
 * 6) Crystal Maroon
 * 7) Crystal Diamond
 * 8) Crystal Sapphire

There are five “colors” which represent the five families of Crystal methodogies, which are to be adopted based on the size of the project (i.e., the number of people involved on a project

Clear–up to 6 people Yellow–up to 20 people Orange–up to 40 people Red–up to 80 people Maroon–up to 200 people

On the other hand, Crystal Sapphire or Crystal Diamond methods are used in large projects that involve potential risk to human life.

If you are in a project that has a Crystal Clear framework, and you increase the people in your project to greater than 6, then Alistair Cockburn recommends the project the next higher framework level (Crystal Yellow), rather than trying to expand the prior Crystal Clear practices.

As you go up in levels, the project is expected to be harder.

4. 4 Levels of Criticality in Crystal

Besides having a “size” factor which determines the framework, the other factor mentioned above which effects the framework is that of “criticality”, which is the level of potential damage the system can cause if it does not perform as designed

Comfort (C) Discretionary Money (D) Essential Money (E) Life (L)

[Source: A Practical Guide to Seven Agile Methodologies Part 2, ( http://www.devx.com/architect/Article/32836/0/page/2 )]

The Crystal Family of Methodologies. One characteristic of Crystal is its intentional scaling to projects based on size and criticality. The larger a project gets (from left to right), the darker the colour.

What are the roles prescribed by Crystal?

The Crystal approach defines a number of roles: Project Sponsor, Senior Designer/Programmer, Designer/Programmers (Business Class Designers, Programmers, Software Documenters and Unit Testers) and Users. Also, there are a number of other roles such as Architect, Coordinator, Requirements Gatherer, Business Expert, Business Analyst/Designer, Project Manager, Design Mentor, Usage Expert, Lead Design Programmer, UI designer, Technical Facilitator and Technical Writer.

Commonality
Between all the methods in the Crystal family, there are seven prevailing common properties. Cockburn found that the more of these properties that were in a project, the more likely it was to succeed.

The seven properties are:
 * 1) Frequent delivery
 * 2) Reflective improvement
 * 3) Close or osmotic communication
 * 4) Personal safety
 * 5) Focus
 * 6) Easy access to expert users
 * 7) Technical environment with automated tests, configuration management, and frequent integration

Frequent delivery
Frequent Delivery is the regular releasing of iterations of the software program. This idea comes from agile methodologies. Designers and developers decide what features to include in each release and they design and test for each release. With Crystal methods, iterations are to be released weekly up to quarterly – the release times are dependant on the length of the project.

By releasing iterations, stakeholders will be able to spot problems earlier in the project which will save a lot of hassle later on. Another point on this is that if the end users decide that the project does not do things the way they’d like it to be done, then steps can be taken to resolve this before it is too late.

With Crystal methods, there can be more than one iteration in a release. This is because it may not be feasible to release every iteration, so a collection of iterations are gathered and delivered in a single release.

Reflective improvement
Reflective improvement involves developers taking a break from regular development and trying to find ways to better their processes. Iterations help with this by providing feedback on whether or not the current process is working.

With Crystal methods, the idea of teams holding “reflection workshop” meetings every couple of weeks is encouraged. These workshops help find processes that are and aren’t working well and help the team to modify them so that a strategy can be developed that works well for the team.

Close or osmotic communication
In Crystal Clear and the smaller of the Crystal methodologies, Osmotic Communication is used. Osmotic communication involves the team being together in a room and getting information to flow around it. With regards to larger teams (over 8 or so), where distraction can arise, Close Communication is used.

The team must be in the same room for this to work. This is because if the developer has to break concentration to move somewhere else to ask a question then their thought process will probably be lost.

By using this type of communication, information flows quickly throughout the team. Questions can be rapidly answered and all the team members know what is going on as well as having the ability to correct any misconceptions that may arise.

By listening to the others in the team, a developer can pick up on what the others are doing, gain experience and develop new ideas. Developers working near each other can help with problems that the other is encountering.

Communication overhead is greatly reduced by using this type of communication. The need for email updates, extra documentation, etc is lowered. By having the team together, each member knows what the others are doing so they should be able to take over their team-mate's parts of the project if needed.

Personal safety
This has got to do with the issue of free speaking within a group of people. If a person is ridiculed whenever they ask a question, suggest an idea, etc then they will be less likely to speak up the next time. The people in the team must be able to trust each other and feel free to speak up about issues or whatever arises.

Focus
Focus in crystal refers to two things; firstly focusing on an individual task in a project for enough time that progress will be made and secondly, it refers to the direction in which the project is heading.

With the first, the flow of progress is taken into account while thinking of issues that would affect it such as interruptions, meetings, long questions, phone calls, etc. It can take a while to get back into the flow again so this delays completion of the current task.

Crystal defines two rules for dealing with issues that may interrupt focus. One is to set a two-hour period where the developer is to have no interruptions. The other is to assign a developer to a project for at least two days before being switched to another project.

With the second meaning of focus, issues such as definition of goals are discussed. The definitions should be clear and the developers should know exactly what the goals of the project are. The project leader should prioritise the goals which will allow developers to focus on particular areas.

Easy access to expert users
This involves the developers working with a person of expertise in the project area so that the expert answers any questions, suggest solutions to problems, etc. The expert user should be an actual/real-life user and not just a tester from the development team. The more involved the expert user is (in practical terms), the better since they would have more hands-on experience.

The more time that the expert user can give will greatly help the overall project but this is not always feasible. There should be a minimum of a once a week, two-hour meeting with the expert user, and the ability to make phone calls to the expert user too.

Technical environment with automated tests, configuration management, and frequent integration
The idea behind this is that there should be continuous integration and testing so that if any changes are made, then errors, breakages, etc can be spotted. Since this is done on a regular basis, problems are less likely to grow as they can be resolved earlier in the project.

The process of checking-in code into a repository can help in identifying the problem code and remove it by reverting back or updating with correct code. This is where configuration management and automated testing come in. These allow for quicker unit testing and eventual resolution of problems.

title: Crystal Methods


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User:Padraigdoran

Hi, my name is Padraig Doran. I am currently doing my Masters in Computing (Software Development) at IT Tralee.

title: User:Padraigdoran


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User:Smoth 007

For my Wikipedia user page, see Smoth 007

title: User:Smoth 007


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User talk:Smoth 007

For my Wikipedia user talk page, see Talk

title: User talk:Smoth 007


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Talk:Metaphysics (Alternate View)/Creation

um, this is really whacked-out.

I'm all in favour of free thought but if you tried teaching this n a real university you'd lose your job.


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Talk:Nonlinear finite elements/Axially loaded bar

The last paragraph states that "this is tedious since we have to repeat the process for every point in the bar".

I don't think this is true like that, i.e. we can just pick one point 'x' that stands for all points. Then $$   \mathbf{f}_{x} = \mathbf{R} + \int_x^L \mathbf{q}(\mathbf{x'})~dx' = \mathbf{R} + \int_x^L a \mathbf{x'}~dx' = \mathbf{R} + \left[ \frac{a}{2} \mathbf{x'}^2 \right] = \mathbf{R} + \frac{aL^2}{2} - \frac{a \mathbf{x}^2}{2} = \mathbf{R} + \frac{a (L^2 - \mathbf{x}^2)}{2} $$

And then go from there?

If the steps after this one become "tedious" then maybe that should be stated like that.


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Talk:Nonlinear finite elements/Axial bar approximate solution

After the second equation there's a reference to "equation (5)". There's no such equation, so that reference should be removed or point to something existing.


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User:Onlyvinod56

HI this is vinod. Me ... wants to discuss abut circuit analysis in electrical angineering

title: User:Onlyvinod56


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User:Mchua/Braindumps

 * Collaboration paper notes

title: User:Mchua/Braindumps