Just scream! part 1

Good day everybody,

I like the idea of this website.

If somebody wants to get rid off something special that he has experienced at the University Maastricht, he or she can do it here, may it be positive or negative, just scream it out here!!

datobi

Research 2.0 – Be the next Jimmy Wales

Some people do not know what to write about and come up with the most amazing ideas. Bret Taylor is sure one of them. Maybe he has not been the first to suggest a Wikipedia for data, yet his webpage is the first place where I came across this brilliant concept.

How often did you have to want do a research project on a bigger scale, but due to time and financial constraints were not able to do so? What if you could just go to a reliable (peer reviewed) source and download the specific data set you need for your paper? The data set would have to be accompanied by a detailed description of the research method applied as well as provide information about the setting in which the data had been collected, of course.

Once this has been accomplished, the next revolution in research history is about to come. Sharing data sets in an open community would enable researchers to draw different conclusions from the same data – because they could be addressing different questions that they particularly want to answer. It is actually about time that the web opens up for science, especially since that is where it originates from.

You can already find open access journals, which are a great way of exchanging information and opinions. Christopher Surridge from the Public Library of Science On-Line Edition thinks that “science happens not just because of people doing experiments but because they’re discussing those experiments.” (Scientific American) To my mind open access journals are paving the way for how research will be carried out and accessed in the future.

Although, it still may take some time and effort before this new way of sharing research results and study insights is going to be adopted by the scientific community. According to the Scientific American, scientists are only slowly turning to these new and open tools that are readily available on the web, such as blogs.

Maybe they fear losing reputation or not being able to further build it up. Evidently, getting an article published in a renown scientific magazine is an outstanding accomplishment, not (yet) comparable to publishing it online. Furthermore, some scientists might think that they will be more occupied responding to the scrutinizing comments of the readers than with doing research.

Yet, isn’t open access to a database full of research data and scientific articles the dream of every scientist? Open access would encourage more interaction, because it decreases the barriers of accessing scientific journals and allows to reach a greater audience.

I don’t suggest every researcher to open a blog now, and besides, some have already done so: Nicolas Carr’s (IT doesn't matter) is one of the few I can really recommend. I do suggest however to create a scientific news aggregation site, which can basically act as the main link connecting the widespread scientific community.

With open access data comes the downside of sharing it publicly – abuse and misuse. Thus, security mechanisms will have to be implemented in order to not falsify data and prevent people from submitting false data. However, I will leave solving this issue to you, dear future entrepreneur.

So, hands up if you want to be the next Jimmy Wales.

Speak Ur Mind at the UM Blog

You might be asking yourself what this blog is all about. And I am willing to answer that question. This blog is for you, the community of the Universiteit Maastricht.

Here you can tell your stories, speak out and make yourself heard. Speak Ur Mind is the place where you can share your experiences and discoveries. Talk about topics you consider being important. Address issues that you think need to be tackled.

Writing a short article is not a one-way street as it is mostly the case with submitting a story to a magazine. This medium gives you the opportunity to become interactive and comment on articles or take part in polls. You can also submit polls, of course. Just send the question with the corresponding answers to speakum@gmail.com.

Another advantage compared to magazines is that your article will get published here, no matter how long or short it is. There is not going to be a selection process either – as long as you adhere to certain rules, such as not using foul language or purposely making false statements. So, this is your chance to get involved, raise issues of your interest and talk to others.

This blog’s purpose is to give you a platform where you can easily and quickly express your mind and at the same time reach an audience instantly. You do not have to reveal your name, but instead can use two letters or just a pseudonym (which shall not be the name of someone else). Further, it might be a good idea to stick to that chosen pseudonym – thereby you can build your reputation.

I am curiously waiting for your stories and comments – don’t let me wait too long ;-). Speak Ur Mind!

The Blogging Season has started

Herewith, I declare the MU UM Blogging Season to be open.

This blog is mainly for students (and the faculty) of the Maastricht University. The who? The what? You might ask. The university is also known as Universiteit Maastricht. Recently, there has been some discussion about the change, or respectively, the addition of the English surrogate name. Especially, since calling it Maastricht University instead of University of Maastricht, leads to switching the well-known UM into MU. Could that have anything to do with the ivy league naming standard maybe(nonexistent, btw, but it is there)?

What is wrong about University of Maastricht? Why not adhere to how (other) top-notch European centers of education call themselves? University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Parma, University of Bologna. Is this solution too obvious or too easy?

According to the Observant "any contacts in Dutch will continue to use the name 'Universiteit Maastricht', but not with the abbreviation UM." Oh noes, um, no UM, but MU [mooh; or Em Ju - just like Ef Ju] instead. Could someone please tell me why it’s not simply called University of Maastricht? Besides, being called Universiteit Maastricht, of course.

It has also been argued, that since the Universiteit Maastricht is a Dutch university, the additional name should be dropped. True, it is a Dutch university. Yet it claims to be an international epicenter of higher education - don't you think that an additional, more international name is more than appropriate?

You can transfer this argumentation to this blog. Why not blog in Dutch, or German, or Kisuaheli? Although my Dutch is better than my Kisuaheli, I - as many of you have as well - noticed that some students at UM speak Dutch, some speak German, a few speak Mandarin and again others speak Spanish. Now, what do all of them have in common, besides working and or studying at UM? Right, all of us speak English.

This, in part, unites us, because it enables us to communicate on common ground. The English language is the catalyst sparking the cross-cultural exchange and makes UM what it is - an international epicenter of education and cultural exchange.