What the Doodle is "Moodle"?

Recently I was made aware of "Moodle," which is a
"free, open-source course management system for online learning". I've never used Moodle, and in fact had never even heard of it until about a week or so ago. Have any of you used it before? It is similar to ANGEL or Blackboard or WebCT? Have you had success with it? Would you recommend it? Will I love it as much as I love Zotero? Do tell!

New Book About Moms in Academia

Those of you who liked the "Ph.D. Mom" buttons I wrote about a while back may be interested in reading a new book about motherhood in academia called Mama, Ph.D. A description of this collection of essays is here:

Mama, Ph.D. is a literary anthology of deeply-felt personal narratives by smart, interesting women both in and out of the academy, writing about their experiences attempting to reconcile bodies with brains. This anthology voices stories of academic women choosing to have, not have, or delay children. The essays in this anthology will speak to and offer support for any woman attempting to combine work and family, and will make recommendations on how to make the academy a more family-friendly workplace.

Inside Higher Ed also has a Mama, Ph.D. blog -- click on this link or on the "Inside Higher Ed Blogs" link on the sidebar for more info.

Creativity for a Cause!

Are you a creative, graphic-designer type? Would you like to apply your talents for a worthy cause? If so, check out this poster contest sponsored by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network:

RAINN is hosting a poster contest for our new college campus campaign. The winning poster will be used as part of our national RAINN Day campaign in September 2008 to promote sexual assault awareness on college campuses all over the U.S., reaching over one million people nationwide! Though there is no monetary compensation, the winning artist will be mentioned on our website (rainn.org).

Details of the contest can be found on RAINN's website.

(Thanks to the DWC Listerv for the heads-up.)

SUNY Press Dissertation/First Book Award

Junior scholars who study violence against women or other issues related to gender, feminism, and criminology/sociology may be interested in the following announcement:

SUNY Press is proud to announce a new competition for the best single-authored dissertation or first book manuscript in the field of women’s and gender studies. We welcome nonfiction manuscripts that exemplify cutting-edge feminist scholarship, whether the area of focus is historical or contemporary. The competition is open to scholars from all disciplinary backgrounds, but we especially encourage work that speaks effectively across disciplines, and projects that offer new perspectives on concerns central to the field of women’s and gender studies. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Feminist knowledge production
Feminist politics
Activism
Intersectionality
Gendered experiences of people of color
Global and transnational feminisms
Institutions and public policies
Women of color feminisms
Theories and practices of coalition
Gender and globalization
Coloniality, postcoloniality and neo-imperialism
Girls studies
Gender and queer sexuality
Transgender studies
Gender and violence
Feminist philosophy and theory
Gender and disability
Gender and militarism
Gender and labor practices
Feminist science and environmental studies
Feminist pedagogy
Cultural production (media, film, music, literature)

If a winner of the competition is selected, he or she will receive a publication contract with SUNY Press and a $3,000 advance. Runners up may also be considered for publication with SUNY Press. All submissions must be postmarked by July 1, 2008, and should include the following materials:

--Cover letter
--C.V.
--Proposal, including a 4-5 page overview of the scope of the project and analysis of competing titles
--Complete manuscript, at least 150 double spaced pages, 12 pt. Courier font

Please mention the competition in your cover letter, and also indicate if any material from the manuscript has been previously published. The winner will be announced in the Fall of 2008. All submissions must be exclusive submissions to SUNY Press for the duration of the contest, and finalists will be notified by September 1, 2008.

Please direct all questions and submissions to

Larin McLaughlin
Acquisitions Editor
SUNY Press
194 Washington Ave., Ste. 305
Albany, NY 12210
larin.mclaughlin@sunypress.edu

This Conference is Right Up Our Alley!

The other day I received in my inbox a call for papers for the following conference:

CRIME AND POPULAR CULTURE:
A Multi-Disciplinary Exploration
An International Academic Conference
October 28-30, 2008

Institute of Justice & International Studies
Department of Criminal Justice
University of Central Missouri

"This academic conference will examine policy, practice, legal, and theoretical issues concerning the interaction between crime and popular culture." Click here for more information.

Now I finally have an outlet to present my (long-gestating and as-yet-unwritten) paper about the criminological implications of Johnny Cash's music! Perhaps we can all submit papers and turn it into a group visit with Velma!

Presidential Candidates' Positions on Crime Issues

Some time ago Velma inquired about the presidential candidates' positions on crime and justice issues. At the time there was not a great deal of information to be had, and what was available was limited to the democratic candidates. Recently, however, the Sentencing Project released a guide to the current candidates' platforms on a variety of criminal justice issues, including capital punishment, felony disenfranchisement, sentencing policy, and others. Information about the platforms of Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain is available in PDF format here.

Creationism vs. Evolution: Expelled

OK, this isn't really a post on crime. Luckily, so few of my posts are actually about crime that I'm guessing you wouldn't expect me to post on topic anyway.

I was reading the other day about Ben Stein's new movie, Expelled. As I have gathered from the trailer, the movie features Ben Stein interviewing scientists people about how creationism might actually be scientifically proven (or, alternatively, how evolution theory might be scientifically DIS-proven).

Being a scientist (of the social variety) but also a religious person, I find this kind of thing interesting. The advertisements for the film describe it as "the film THEY don't want you to see". At the start of the trailer, Ben is writing "DO NOT QUESTION AUTHORITY" repeatedly on a chalkboard.

Isn't is ironic, then, that (at least according to one blogger), law enforcement agencies have been instructed to keep specific people OUT of the theaters to see this film? (Ooh!! There's my criminal justice link to this story--the POLICE were called.)

(And if you don't know who Richard Dawkins is: here ya go.)

Support Your Trojans!

Exciting news--the East Lansing High School boys basketball team has made it to the MHSAA final four for the first time since 1958! They'll be playing top-ranked (and nationally ranked!) Saginaw in the Breslin Center at 1pm on Friday.

The most exciting thing about this game is that one of my colleagues has a son playing for ELHS this year (I won't mention his name, but you can probably guess who). Keep good thoughts, and LET'S GO TROJANS!

Indictment at MSU?

According to the local news, there will be an announcement at 2pm EDT about a major criminal investigation on campus. Hopefully I'll have more information as it comes in.

(I'm lying low at home just in case.)

From the Lansing State Journal, 3/10/08:

Significant criminal indictment to be announced at MSU

Midday update

Associated Press

EAST LANSING — Representatives from federal and local law enforcement agencies will gather at Michigan State University to announce an indictment in what they are calling a significant criminal case.

Representatives from the university police, FBI and the U.S. attorney's office would not discuss the nature of the case this morning.

A news conference in East Lansing is scheduled for 2 p.m.

New ACJS Section on Restorative & Community Justice

I don't know how many of you saw that a new ACJS section on Restorative & Community Justice is being formed. For those interested in learning more about or joining this new section, the first meeting will occur at the upcoming Annual Meeting in Cincinatti -- details are below:

Restorative & Community Justice Section General Meeting
Thursday, March 13
Event 187, Hyatt Hoosier A, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

The general meeting will be followed by a panel presentation on restorative & community justice issues (Event 228, Hyatt Hoosier B, 3:30 - 4:45 p.m.).

NIJ Grant Money

National Institute of Justice has just posted their RFP for investigator-initiated research. A description-

The Crime and Justice Research solicitation is NIJ’s "open" solicitation for social and behavioral research and evaluation on topics relevant to State and/or local criminal and juvenile justice policy and practice. Most crime and justice topics that are relevant to policymakers and practitioners are eligible for consideration.

Here is the link.

Happy grant writing.