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Saturday, February 23, 2008

what is an email?

E-mail, short for electronic mail and often abbreviated to e-mail, email or simply mail, is a store and forward method of composing, sending, storing, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. The term "e-mail" (as a noun or verb) applies both to the Internet e-mail system based on the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and to X.400 systems, and to intranet systems allowing users within one organization to e-mail each other. Intranets may use the Internet protocols or X.400 protocols for internal e-mail service supporting workgroup collaboration. E-mail is often used to deliver bulk unsolicited messages, or "spam", but filter programs exist which can automatically delete some or most of these, depending on the situation.


The message header consists of fields, usually including at least the following:

  • From: The e-mail address, and optionally the name of the sender
  • To: The e-mail address[es], and optionally name[s] of the message's recipient[s]
  • Subject: A brief summary of the contents of the message
  • Date: The local time and date when the message was written

Each header field has a name and a value. RFC 2822 specifies the precise syntax. Informally, the field name starts in the first character of a line, followed by a ":", followed by the value which is continued on non-null subsequent lines that have a space or tab as their first character. Field names and values are restricted to 7-bit ASCII characters. Non-ASCII values may be represented using MIME encoded words.

Note that the "To" field in the header is not necessarily related to the addresses to which the message is delivered. The actual delivery list is supplied in the SMTP protocol, not extracted from the header content. The "To" field is similar to the greeting at the top of a conventional letter which is delivered according to the address on the outer envelope. Also note that the "From" field does not have to be the real sender of the e-mail message. It is very easy to fake the "From" field and let a message seem to be from any mail address. It is possible to digitally sign e-mail, which is much harder to fake. Some Internet service providers do not relay e-mail claiming to come from a domain not hosted by them, but very few (if any) check to make sure that the person or even e-mail address named in the "From" field is the one associated with the connection. Some Internet service providers apply e-mail authentication systems to e-mail being sent through their MTA to allow other MTAs to detect forged spam that might apparently appear to be from them.

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egypt is a famous place in the world.

Egyptian pyramids

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A view of the pyramids at Giza from the plateau to the south of the complex. From right to left are the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure. The three smaller pyramids in the foreground are associated with Menkaure's pyramid.
A view of the pyramids at Giza from the plateau to the south of the complex. From right to left are the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure. The three smaller pyramids in the foreground are associated with Menkaure's pyramid.
Pyramid
in hieroglyphs

The Pyramids of Egypt are among the largest structures ever built[1] and constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. Most were built during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.[2]

Contents

[hide]

Historic development

By the time of the early dynastic period of Egyptian history, those with sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures known as mastabas.[3][4]

The first historically documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed to the architect Imhotep, who planned what Egyptologists believe to be a tomb for the pharaoh Djozer. Imhotep may have been the first to conceive the notion of stacking mastabas on top of each other — creating an edifice comprised of a number of "steps" that decreased in size towards its apex. The result was the Step Pyramid of Djozer — which was designed to serve as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens. Such was the importance of Imhotep's achievement that he was deified by later Egyptians.[5]

The most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of absolutist pharaonic rule. It was during this time that the most famous pyramids, those near Giza, were built. Over time, as authority became less centralized, the ability and willingness to harness the resources required for construction on a massive scale decreased, and later pyramids were smaller, less well-built and often hastily constructed.

Long after the end of Egypt's own pyramid-building period, a burst of pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day Sudan, after much of Egypt came under the rule of the Kings of Napata. While Napatan rule was brief and ceased in 661 BC, the Egyptian influence made an indelible impression, and during the later Sudanese Kingdom of Meroe (approximately in the period between 300 BC–AD 300) this flowered into a full-blown pyramid-building revival, which saw more than two hundred indigenous, but Egyptian-inspired royal pyramid-tombs constructed in the vicinity of the kingdom's capital city.

Pyramid symbolism

The shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. The shape is also thought to be representative of the descending rays of the sun, and most pyramids were faced with polished, highly reflective white limestone, in order to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from a distance. Pyramids were often also named in ways that referred to solar luminescence. For example, the formal name of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur was The Southern Shining Pyramid, and that of Senwosret at el-Lahun was Senwosret is Shining.

While it is generally agreed that pyramids were burial monuments, there is continued disagreement on the particular theological principles that might have given rise to them. One theory is that they were designed as a type of "resurrection machine"[6]

The Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the narrow shafts that extends from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have been designed to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaoh's soul directly into the abode of the gods.

All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west bank of the Nile, which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead in Egyptian mythology.[7]

Number and location of pyramids

The number of pyramid structures in Egypt today is reported by most sources as being between 81 and 112[citation needed], with a majority favoring the higher number. In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius made a list of pyramids, in which he counted 67, but more have been identified and discovered since his time. The imprecise nature of the count is related to the fact that as many smaller pyramids are in a poor state of preservation and appear as little more than mounds of rubble, they are only now being properly identified and studied by archaeologists. Most are grouped in a number of pyramid fields, the most important of which are listed geographically, from north to south, below.

Abu Rawash

Main article: Abu Rawash

Abu Rawash is the site of Egypt's most northerly pyramid (other than the ruins of Lepsius pyramid number one)[2]— the mostly ruined Pyramid of Djedefre, son and successor of Khufu. Originally it was thought that this pyramid had never been completed, but the current archaeological consensus is that not only was it completed, but that it was originally about the same size as the Pyramid of Menkaure, which would have made it among the half-dozen or so largest pyramids in Egypt.

Its location adjacent to a major crossroads made it an easy source of stone. Quarrying — which began in Roman times — has left little apart from a few courses of stone superimposed upon the natural hillock that formed part of the pyramid's core. A small adjacent satellite pyramid is in a better state of preservation.

Giza

Main article: Giza pyramid complex
Map of Giza pyramid complex.

Giza is the location of the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the "Great Pyramid" and the "Pyramid of Cheops"); the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren); the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices known as "Queen's pyramids"; and the Great Sphinx.

Of the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, near its apex. This pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction — it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume.

The Giza Necropolis has been a popular tourist destination since antiquity, and was popularized in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of those wonders still in existence.

Zawyet el-Aryan

See also: Zawyet el'Aryan

This site, halfway between Giza and Abu Sir, is the location for two unfinished Old Kingdom pyramids. The northern structure's owner is believed to be the Pharaoh Nebka, whilst the southern structure is attributed to the Third Dynasty Pharaoh Khaba, also known as Hudjefa, successor to Sekhemkhet. Khaba's four-year tenure as pharaoh more than likely explains the similar premature truncation of his step pyramid. Today it is approximately twenty meters in height; had it been completed it is likely to have exceeded 40.

Abu Sir

Main article: Abusir

There are a total of seven pyramids at this site, which served as the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty. The quality of construction of the Abu Sir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty — perhaps signaling a decrease in royal power or a less vibrant economy. They are smaller than their predecessors, and are built of low-quality local limestone.

The three major pyramids are those of Niuserre (which is also the most intact), Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid of Neferefre. All of the major pyramids at Abu Sir were built as step pyramids, although the largest of them — the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai — is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70 metres in height and then later transformed into a "true" pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry.

Saqqara

Main article: Saqqara
The Step Pyramid of Djozer
The Step Pyramid of Djozer

Major pyramids located here include the Step Pyramid of Djozer — generally identified as the world's oldest substantial monumental structure to be built of finished stone — the Pyramid of Merykare, the Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of Teti. Also at Saqqara is the Pyramid of Unas, which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt. This pyramid was also the subject of one of the earliest known restoration attempts, conducted by a son of Ramesses II. Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of Djozer's successor Sekhemkhet, known as the Buried Pyramid. Archaeologists believe that had this pyramid been completed it would have been larger than Djozer's.

South of the main pyramid field at Saqqara is a second collection of later, smaller pyramids, including those of Pepi I, Isesi, Merenre, Ibi, Pepi II and Shepseskaf. Most of these are in a poor state of preservation.

Dahshur

Main article: Dahshur
Snofru's Red Pyramid
Snofru's Red Pyramid

This area is arguably the most important pyramid field in Egypt outside Giza and Saqqara, although until 1996 the site was inaccessible due to its location within a military base, and hence was virtually unknown outside archaeological circles.

The southern Pyramid of Sneferu, commonly known as the Bent Pyramid is believed to be the first (or by some accounts, second) attempt at creating a pyramid with smooth sides. In this it was only a partial — but nonetheless visually arresting — success; it remains the only Egyptian pyramid to retain a significant proportion of its original limestone casing, and serves as the best example of the luminous appearance common to all pyramids in their original state. The northern, or Red Pyramid built at the same location by Sneferu was later successfully completed as the world's first true smooth-sided pyramid. Despite its relative obscurity, the Red Pyramid is actually the third largest pyramid in Egypt — after the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre at Giza. Also at Dahshur is the pyramid known as the Black Pyramid of Amenemhet III.

Mazghuna

Main article: Mazghuna

Located to the south of Dahshur, this area was used in the First Intermediate Period by several kings who constructed their pyramids out of mud brick. Today these structures are obscure and unimpressive.

Lisht

Main article: el-Lisht
The ruined Pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht
The ruined Pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht

Two major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht — those of Amenemhat I and his son, Senusret I. The latter is surrounded by the ruins of ten smaller subsidiary pyramids. One of these subsidiary pyramids is known to be that of Amenemhat's cousin, Khaba II. [8] The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of Fayyum, midway between Dahshur and Meidum, and about 100 kilometres south of Cairo, is believed to be in the vicinity of the ancient city of Itjtawy (the precise location of which remains unknown), which served as the capital of Egypt during the 12th Dynasty.

Meidum

Main article: Meidum

Sneferu's Pyramid at Meidum; the central core structure remains, surrounded by a mountain of rubble from the collapsed outer casing.

The pyramid at Meidum is one of three constructed during the reign of Sneferu, and is believed by some to have been started by that pharaoh's father and predecessor, Huni. However, this is not very likely, as his name does not appear on the site. Some archaeologists also suggest that the Meidum pyramid may have been the first unsuccessful attempt at the construction of a "true" or smooth-sided pyramid.

The pyramid suffered a catastrophic collapse in antiquity, and today only the central parts of its stepped inner core remain standing, giving it an odd tower-like appearance that is unique among Egyptian pyramids. The hill that the pyramid sits atop is not a natural landscape feature — it is the small mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of the pyramid gave way.

Hawara

Main article: Hawara
The Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Hawarra
The Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Hawarra

Amenemhet III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawarra, near Faiyum, is believed to post-date the so-called "Black Pyramid" built by the same ruler at Dahshur. It is the Hawarra pyramid that is believed to have been Amenemhet's final resting place.

el-Lahun

Main article: el-Lahun
The Pyramid of Senusret II. The pyramid's natural limestone core is clearly visible as the yellow stratum at its base.
The Pyramid of Senusret II. The pyramid's natural limestone core is clearly visible as the yellow stratum at its base.

The pyramid of Senusret II at el-Lahun is the southernmost royal-tomb pyramid structure in Egypt. Its builders reduced the amount of work necessary to construct it by ingeniously using as its foundation and core a 12-meter-high natural limestone hill.

Construction dates

The following table lays out the chronology of the construction of most of the major pyramids mentioned here. Each pyramid is identified through the pharaoh who ordered it built, their approximate reign and its location.

Pyramid / Pharaoh Reign Field
Djozer c. 2630 - 2612 bc Saqqara
Sneferu c. 2612 - 2589 bc Dashur
Sneferu c. 2612 - 2589 bc Dashur
Sneferu c. 2612 - 2589 bc Meidum
Khufu c. 2589 - 2566 bc Giza
Djedefre c. 2566 - 2558 bc Abu Rawash
Khafre c. 2558 - 2532 bc Giza
Menkaure c. 2532 - 2504 bc Giza
Sahure c. 2487 - 2477 bc Abu Sir
Neferirkare Kakai c. 2477 - 2467 bc Abu Sir
Nyuserre Ini c. 2416 - 2392 bc Abu Sir
Amenemhat I c. 1991 - 1962 bc Lisht
Senusret I c. 1971 - 1926 bc Lisht
Senusret II c. 1897 - 1878 bc el-Lahun
Amenemhat III c. 1860 - 1814 bc Hawara

See also

Pyramids of other cultures

List

Notes & references

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  1. ^ The Great Pyramid of Khufu. Retrieved April 12, 2005. "The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the largest pyramid in Egypt and was the tallest man-made structure in the world until 1888."
  2. ^ a b Michael Ritter (2003) [1] Dating the Pyramids. Retrieved April 13, 2005
  3. ^ [2] Burial customs: mastabas. University College London (2001) Retrieved April 14, 2005
  4. ^ [3] Burial customs in Early Dynastic Egypt. University College London (2001). Retrieved April 14, 2005
  5. ^ [4] Imhotep, Doctor, Architect, High Priest, Scribe and Vizier to King Djoser (Jimmy Dunn). Retrieved April 24, 2005
  6. ^ [5] The Pyramids: "Resurrection Machines". (Houghton Mifflin College) Retrieved April 13, 2005
  7. ^ [6] Hidden History of Egypt (The Discovery Channel (2002-2004)) Retrieved April 13, 2005
  8. ^ Allen, James & Manuelian, Peter (2005), The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (Writings from the Ancient World, No. 23), Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004137776

External links

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if there is no change in three months, there will be war again'

A crucial Iraqi ally of the United States in its recent successes in the country is threatening to withdraw his support and allow al-Qa'ida to return if his fighters are not incorporated into the Iraqi army and police.

"If there is no change in three months there will be war again," said Abu Marouf, the commander of 13,000 fighters who formerly fought the Americans. He and his men switched sides last year to battle al-Qa'ida and defeated it in its main stronghold in and around Fallujah.

"If the Americans think they can use us to crush al-Qa'ida and then push us to one side, they are mistaken," Abu Marouf told The Independent in an interview in a scantily furnished villa beside an abandoned cemetery near the village of Khandari outside Fallujah. He said that all he and his tribal following had to do was stand aside and al-Qa'ida's fighters would automatically come back. If they did so he might have to ally himself to a resurgent al-Qa'ida in order to "protect myself and my men".

Abu Marouf said he was confident that his forces controlled a swath of territory stretching east from Fallujah into Baghdad and includes what Americans called "the triangle of death" south-west of the capital. Even so his bodyguards, armed with AK-47 assault rifles, nervously watched the abandoned canals and reed beds around his temporary headquarters. Others craned over light machine guns in newly built watch towers. Several anti-Qa'ida tribal leaders have been killed by suicide bombers in recent weeks.

His threat is highly dangerous for the US and Iraqi government, neither of which made any headway in ending the Sunni insurgency against the US occupation for four years until the tribes of Anbar, the province in which Fallujah lies, turned against al-Qa'ida. They formed the Awakening movement, known in Arabic as al-Sahwah, of which Abu Marouf, whose full name is Karim Ismail Hassan al-Zubai, is a leading member.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, warned last week it would be "very dangerous" if the Awakening movement's 80,000 fighters were not absorbed into the army and police. "They are not that well organised and could easily be manipulated by al-Qa'ida," he said.

The Iraqi government fears ceding power to the Awakening movement which it sees as an American-funded Sunni militia, whose leaders are often former military or security officers from Saddam Hussein's regime and are unlikely to show long-term loyalty to the Shia and Kurdish-dominated administration.

Abu Marouf – a thin man aged about 40, with a short beard and wearing a brown suit and lilac tie – says he was "security officer" before the US invasion of 2003. Afterwards he became a resistance fighter and, though he will not say which guerrilla group he belonged to, local sources say he was a commander of the 1920 Revolution Brigades. He is also a member of the powerful Zubai tribe that was at the heart of anti-American resistance in an area which saw the fiercest fighting during the Sunni rebellion against the occupation.

He has a precise memory for dates and figures. He says that he started secretly working against al-Qa'ida at a meeting as long ago as 14 April 2005. He and his men gathered intelligence. Eight months later they started making attacks on al-Qa'ida, which was trying to monopolise power in Sunni areas.

"They cut off people's heads and put them on sticks, as if they were sheep. They cut off my brother's head with a razor. Thirteen of my relatives and 450 members of my tribe were killed by them," he said.

Part of Abu Marouf's force is paid for by the Americans. Ordinary fighters are believed to receive $350 (£175) a month and officers $1,200, but some receive no salary. He makes clear that he wants long-term jobs for himself and his followers and that "they must be long-term jobs". There is more than just money involved here. The Sunni tribal leaders want a share of power in Baghdad which they lost when Saddam Hussein was deposed.

The US calls the Awakening movement groups "Concerned Citizens", as if they were pacific householders heroically restoring law and order. In fact, the US has handed over Sunni areas to the guerrilla groups such as the 1920 Brigades and the Islamic Army who have been blowing up American solders since 2003.

This creates a serious problem for the Iraqi government and for the Americans themselves. Though Abu Marouf wants to join the government security forces, he volunteers that he considers the present Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki "the worst government in the world – his army has got 13 divisions, most of which are recruited from Shia militias controlled by Iran."

It is clear that Abu Marouf sees the Shia religious party takeover of government as something to be resisted.

The city of Fallujah – many of its buildings still in ruins since the US Marines stormed it in November 2004 – is peaceful compared with six months ago. Al-Qa'ida fighters, who once dominated it, have either gone or are keeping a low profile. The Americans have a large military camp on its outskirts. But the defeat of al-Qa'ida is not exactly a victory for the Iraqi government.

In the centre of the city is a much-attacked police station run by Colonel Feisal Ismail Hassan al-Zubai, an authoritative looking man, who is the elder brother of Abu Marouf. A career officer in Saddam Hussein's Special Forces since 1983, who fought in 11 battles against Iran, he was appointed police chief in December 2006. When I asked what he did previously he said: "I was fighting against the Americans." Asked why had he changed sides he replied: "When I compared the Americans to al-Qa'ida and the [Shia] militia, I chose the Americans."

Beside Colonel Feisal is a gold framed picture of himself as a young officer. "That was when I was a lieutenant in the real Iraqi army," he says. Behind him is the old Iraqi flag which the government is trying to replace.

He says: "The worst day of my life was when Saddam Hussein fell in 2003." He chokes himself off from giving an account of the first battle of Fallujah against the Americans in April 2004 in which he appears to have played a role. "The Americans now give me everything I want," he says.

There is no doubt that Abu Marouf and Colonel Feisal are far better people than the savage sectarian bigots of al-Qa'ida whom they have driven away.

But, far from America having won a victory in Iraq, violence has fallen largely because the United States has handed power to the guerrillas who fought it for so long.

If the Iraqi government pretends it has conquered its enemies and refuses to give men like Abu Marouf a share in power then Iraq will soon being facing another war.


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malaysia is truly asia..see the article

Multiculturalism has not only made Malaysia a gastronomical paradise, it has also made Malaysia home to hundreds of colourful festivals. It's no wonder that we love celebrating and socialising. As a people, Malaysians are very laid back, warm and friendly.

Geographically, Malaysia is as diverse as its culture. There are two parts to the country, 11 states in the peninsula of Malaysia and two states on the northern part of Borneo. Cool hideaways are found in the highlands that roll down to warm, sandy beaches and rich, humid mangroves.

One of Malaysia's key attractions is its extreme contrasts. Towering skyscrapers look down upon wooden houses built on stilts, and five-star hotels sit several metres away from ancient reefs.

For the perfect holiday full of surprises, eclectic cultures and natural wonders, the time is now, the place is Malaysia.

Malaysia is fast becoming one of the leading dive destinations of the world with one of the richest marine environments in the Indo-Pacific Basin. The incredible bio-diversity of marine life, coupled with beautiful islands, white sandy beaches and clear warm waters, keeps divers coming back time and time again.

Top dive sites around Malaysia include diverse underwater geography such as sloping reefs, coral blocks, wall dives, deep dives, drift dives and wreck dives. A dip below the warm sea’s surface guarantees you an astounding experience, with a concentration of vibrant and exotic marine life rarely rivalled anywhere else in the world. From schooling Hammerhead Sharks, to huge schools of barracudas and various species of turtles, to the bizarre Frogfish and Ghost Pipefish, there is always something fascinating awaiting you. It's no exaggeration to say that almost every time a marine bio-diversity survey is conducted in Malaysia’s tropical seas, the species list increases!

Dive centres in Malaysia are numerous, well equipped and certified by all the internationally recognised dive agencies like PADI, SSI and SSAC for maintaining their standards of safety and professionalism. Naturally, all scuba diving courses in Malaysian waters are also endorsed by these certifying agencies. After completing your scuba course, get outfitted with the latest scuba equipment as all international brands are available from dive centres in Malaysia. Almost all the islands in Malaysia cater to divers of all levels of experience - be it easy, shallow drift-diving, to advanced wreck-diving or technical diving.

Located in the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the heart of the world's richest marine biodiversity area, Malaysia also offers pristine beaches and professional dive centres for the pleasure and safety of the advanced and novice diver. For a most memorable diving holiday, the time is now, the place is Malaysia.


If you plan to do some diving out here, you should try to book a package with an operator that would include diving, food and accommodation. It's a good way to save money. Also, the sea gets rough and murky during the east coast's monsoon (November - March), so try to time your visit outside of this period.
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developing a web traffic tips...here u are.!

These 8 Internet Marketing articles contain all the elements that you will need for a complete, continuous and effective Internet Marketing strategy.
  1. Content is King

Create content on a regular schedule to keep people and search engines coming back.
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  1. Visibility is Key

A great website does little good unless it has visitors. Submit site to search engines, directories and participate in online and pay per click advertising.
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  1. Optimization is Critical

More content will create more search engine hits. It is also critical to understand what your ideal audience is searching for and optimize pages for higher ranking on the main search engines.
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Press Releases and articles in newspapers, magazines, A list blogs and expert sites will increase page ranking and drive more traffic to your site.
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The more websites that point to you as a valued resource, the higher your ranking and traffic go. This can be achieved with link campaigns and with online directories.
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Every person in your organization should promote the business and the website. Develop reasons for people to visit it and give them talking points. Add referral, advocate and tell a friend features.
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Thursday, February 21, 2008

u can use computers while journey also.

Abstract

This article overviews an action-inquiry-based experimentation with an emancipatory approach to academic work in the 21st century electronic age. Universities generally request of academic staff the pursuit of three (inter-related) missions: teaching, research, and service. This article suggests four pillars which could help to support authentic pursuit of these missions: the use of free software, open file formats, open access materials, and placing of materials into the public domain or use of copyleft licensing. This approach was pursued within the the the context of teaching Survey Design & Methods in Psychology during Semester 1, 2007 at the University of Canberra as part of the institution's Researching Online Learning project. Institutional support and encouragement to experiment with an open academic approach was critical to the progress made.

Pursuit of emancipatory teaching in an electronic age



Mt. Everest may have been well and truly climbed, but there's no shortage of other mountains to be tackled with a spirit of adventure and for the potential benefit of humanity and ecomanity. Within the context of academia, I imagine myself somewhere half-up, half-down stumbling around in the wilds in search of providing authentic teaching, research, and service. Along the way, I have been developing my developing a teaching philosophy which includes four practical information technology principles which help guide a significant part of my teaching, research and service endeavors. These principles involve the use of:
  • Free software
  • Open file formats
  • Open access materials, and
  • Open licensing.

    Figure. Four principles of emancipatory teaching in a 21st century electronic age

Free software


I have been experimenting with a range of free software and (FOSS) for university teaching. Its not that free and open source softwareproprietary software is necessarily inherently evil, its just that the free software and open source software movements offer a fundamentally better model for the future of a fair, sustainable human and natural world. If you're in need of convincing, I recommend Richard Stallman's "Why schools should use exclusively free software" as a starting point.
The ways in which people go about switching to free software vary and depend on individual circumstances. Some people go "cold turkey" and switch quickly. I'm moving slowly and enjoying doing so.
So, I'm currently using Windows XP and at various stages of transitioning teaching-related applications to free software. Each semester I switch over more functionality to free software and somewhere down the track I'll transition to a free software operating system.
A particularly strong consideration for me is to strive to teach using tools which students can freely obtain ongoing access to, beyond their short-term period of access to the institutional IT system. Thus, educators I believe need to be teaching more within the external context of students' lives, and less within the artificial setting of the university.

With Australian student fees having been hiked higher than ever relative to CPI over the past two decades, we should not be compounding the issue by locking students into being primarily dependent on proprietary software during their professional education when there are reasonable alternatives available. Prescribing proprietary software serves to constrain and disempower, and is indicative of ivory towerism in bed with commercialism. Or we could say, a plain lack of empathy which arises from treating students and staff as commodities, rather than as people learning how to be contribute effectively to society. Education should be a liberating exercise. Or maybe I've just been reading too much John Dewey and listening to too many Richard Stallman speeches.

Open file formats and open access


In addition to teaching using free software, I also consider it basic pedagogy to:
  • Maximise the flexibility and availability of learning materials
    (part of which is to use open file formats)
  • Share knowledge, questions, and projects, with enrolled students, the institution, colleagues, and broader society
    (part of which is to provide open access).

Preparing materials in open formats and providing open access gives the material added social value. For example, the unit materials can be readily utilised in other settings (such as in developing countries), particularly where proprietary software and access to specialist knowledge is nigh impossible. Locally, the student and institution benefits because open access material fosters feedback and collaboration. Some would say that such sharing leads to good karma, others may at least see the value of open formats and open access for antiquity.

Regardless of one's philosophical orientation, there is little question that information shared online has. and stands to have, a greater impact than information only shared via hard-copy. It is becoming increasingly well recognised, for example, that citation rates for online studies are in the order to two to five times higher than hard copy only studies. Open access peer-reviewed publications and open access teaching materials clearly offer greater potential for global academic advancement than exclusive knowledge-sharing amongst the economically privileged. This quiet revolution has been underway since the early days of the internet age:

The Open Access Movement, if you could call it a "movement", can be traced back to an email message called a Subversive Proposal written by Steven Harnadin 1994. The Proposal outlined a method for academia to make accessible scholarly content by depositing and distributing it through institutional repositories as well as through traditional publishing venues. Such a process, if adopted by the majority of academia, would not only facilitate scholarly communication and exploit the use of the Internet as a publication/distribution medium, but it would also circumvent some of the issues surrounding the escalating prices of the scholarly journal literature.

Open licensing

One may use free software, open file formats, and provide open access, but may still impose restrictions on the use of the material by asserting copyright. A user should be free to access, redistribute, change and modify the material. Otherwise the sharing of the information is only partial, imposing inconvenient and unnecessary restrictions on the reader. Copyright law was in fact developed to protect the public from having limited use of useful information - hence, "fair use" is written into law to give the general public some basic rights of use of published information. However, for optimal human development, knowledge should be shared freely, openly and without restriction upon the reader.

The first place we should look for such an open attitude to be modeled are academics and universities, whose livelihood is generally supported at least in significant part by the state, the philanthropic community, and its students. The minimum to be expected by society in return for the privilege of being an academic is free , open, electronic sharing of each academic's teaching and research work. Thus, the fourth pillar of emancipatory university teaching in an electronic age is to place all teaching and research materials in the public domain or to apply some form of copyleft, such as Creative Commons or GNU GPL licenses.

Copyleft is a general term to indicate an opposite attitude to the significant restrictions which copyright imposes on the reader (despite the allowances of "fair use"). In fact, a copyleft license uses copyright law to assert that the material can only be further distributed under a similar license. Some have argued that this restricts further usage of material and that therefore copyleft licenses are too severe. Whatever the nuances, an author can choose from a range of licenses (or make up his or her own) which are far more open and preferable to copyright. However, I think the simplest and best solution is to simply put one's materials in the public domain. It all ends up in the public domain once you've been dead long enough, so why wait? Modern technology has heralded the death of copyright, it's high time to march to a different beat.

Tools, functions and applications

I search for the best free software to meet each desired functionality for sharing unit materials and fostering electronic communication. All solutions ultimately need some level of customising, and occasionally a bit of hacking. I also use proprietary software where no reasonable alternatives exist or where I haven't sufficiently experimented yet to commit to an alternative in a production teaching environment.

The main tools I use in my day-to-day teaching-related work are outlined below, as are various issues associated with their use.

Learning management systems


Open Academic


Open Academic is in its early stages as a LMS. Its basically a hack of Drupal (a well-respected free software Content Management System). UC used a consultant, Bill Fitzgerald (the OA guru), for web-hosting and customising an OA installation. I experimented with setting up my unit in OA here - but you can't see anything unless you register). There were several aspects of OA which didn't allow me the flexibility in design that I desired. I prefer to have direct control over my electronic teaching materials and how they are presented. For example, I want to put my materials in the public domain, for free and open access (not hidden behind logins which is a problem with most LMSs).

This is not to say I wouldn't use OA in the future - it has considerable potential.
It should also be pointed out that OA encompasses much more than a Drupal hack. It has the vision of being integrated with other free software packages, including:

  • Moodle (a popular free software LMS) and
  • MediaWiki (what Wikipedia runs on), with
  • OpenID (for integration of logins).

All of this sounded attractive and represents the possibility of many teaching tools coming together under a single umbrella. However, the practical implementation is rather nascent, and with time running out before semester got underway I opted out from frustrations I envisage would ensue from expecting too much of the early implementation of OA.

Google groups

Google Groups provides a simple, easy to use and customise, reliable, group discussion tool. A closed GG was operated so that students' postings weren't subjected to external availability and scrutiny. I try to encourage students to ask questions, however "dumb" they may seem to be. Much as I personally prefer open communities, I didn't want to discourage group communication.

Initially I had problems signing students up because GG rejected my attempts to bulk add my 80 student email addresses (part of their anti-spam efforts). However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it made students sign up using their preferred email address, which are usually not their university email addresses.

I had no ambition to do anything other than provide a simple, basic mechanism for email and web-forum style communications amongst staff and students. An important criteria which led me to choose GG was that I found no other way (other than equivalent sites such as Yahoo Groups) which provided a free web-based and email-based discussion tool.

I valued highly the goal of a simple electronic discussion medium which could accessed via email or web. I think its inadequate in this day and age to have email only or web only electronic communications for tertiary teaching. Email remains the key electronic communication device in students' lives (along with mobile phones). GG provides a simple, easy and effective electronic announcement mechanism, with students able to customise their email address and the format and regularity of delivery of group messages to their email accounts.

GG has expanded well beyond group email and could be used as an entire LMS. This is an interesting possibility which I would pursue further except that for the fact that, much as I love Google's free products and their "do no evil" philosophy, they are a profit-making company (e.g., ads display on the GG interface) and their software is not free software.

Firefox

During computer-based laboratories I introduced students to using Firefox 2 as their web browser. Uptake was quite successful, because FF2 is pre-installed on the UC disk image and has the significant advantage of tabbed browsing after IE6. In the future, there is significant potential for integrating a range of learning tools and functions with FF. It could be possible to create a LMS-style install of FF, with various extensions, such as social bookmarking icons (e.g., for del.icio.us).

Web-browsing and email are two key ways that students interact electronically. A third is via mobile devices. Thus, transitioning students to using a free software browser is an important step towards creating a free software platform.

Open office

The most ubiquitous desktop applications are Microsoft Access, mainly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. One of the problems with these programs is that the information is tied up in a proprietary format. Recently, however, there has been internationally agreement about standards for open document formats, which do not require proprietary software to read, edit, and save the files.

There are several free software packages now available which essentially replicate and extend the functionality of MS Office and which can read and store files in open formats. The most popular is Open Office, which consists of:

To date, I'm using OO Writer for keeping notes (where I once used MS Word) and switching over old spreadsheets and create new spreadsheets in Calc (where I once used MS Excel).

Next semester I will making a similar transition to use of Impress (where I currently use MS PowerPoint). I've requested OO be installed on the university disk image so that in teaching we start to use open document formats. In the past I have also experimented with the use of S5, which provides css for creating presentations from html files (e.g., [Introduction to Social Psychology|http://wilderdom.com/psychology/social/Introduction.html lecture). S5, however, took extra time with html markup and, whilst it worked, is not in the same league as a growing band of Web2.0 presentation applications which I think will become increasingly attractive, such as SlideShare.

Screen capture

MW Snap is a screen capture tool which is very handy for capturing any part of the screen and saving as image. I use this for creating images for use in tutorials and lectures. It's a free alternative to SnagIt.

I also use some proprietary software for image editing, including PhotoStudio2000 and Adobe Illustrator, but eventually plan to transition to a free software alternative such as GIMP.

Screen recording

CamStudio is free screen recording (or screen castings) software. I have made some experimental recordings however there seems to be a missing codec from the UC system necessary to watch the .avi video format. I'm hoping to use screen recordings to create more visual, interactive tutorials and tips for computer-related tasks. It could also be used in conjunction with video blogging by staff and students.

For watching videos and listening to audio on a desktop, VLC media player is free and excellent.

Lecture recording


Lecture screencasts (.wmv) and audio (.wma) were automatically captured and online via student or staff login. This was provided by the UC digital recording service, a homegrown application which works quite well. There is, however, a project underway to find a commercial, enterprise replacement package with greater functionality.
Access to the recordings is via UC staff or student password. I would have liked to make the audio and video more widely available, but I lack sufficient bandwidth and server space, as well as administrative time for transferring these externally. They can't easily be transferred to video hosting sites such as YouTube because those videos are limited to ~5 to 10 minutes in length.
I am hopefully and will be lobbying for UC's search for new enterprise software for lecture recording will lead to digital recordings with customisable licenses and levels of access. Or for the system to be integrable with a new digital learning object management system which allows different levels of license and access.
It would also be desirable to see the university move towards allowing the creation of open format digital media (e.g., .ogg files for audio).

Statistical analysis

In psychology, we traditionally use SPSS for statistical analysis. SPSS is powerful, but the licenses are expensive. This is a significant issue because off-campus access for students for a full version is over $1000 or for dumbed-down studentware versions ($100 to $300).

Free software alternatives are few and limited, but at this stage include:

  • R - command-driven only, but powerful
  • Open Office Calc - spreadsheet-style
  • Many more to be explored - Free Statistical Software

Readings and textbooks


I am moving towards teaching courses with open access materials, but still find textbooks useful and also electronic readings which are copyrighted and delivered via e-reserve. Eventually, I will transition to only using entirely copyright-free materials. Textbooks remain helpful adjuncts to electronic materials, however their cost has risen disproportionately to CPI over the last decade and they are basically a rip-off to which most academics unthinkingly pander. (Like drug companies giving doctors free drugs, etc. publishers lure academics with free books).
As academics, we should be campaigning and taking action to help students get access to full-text materials at cost-price. With the erosion of student unions, the responsibility falls more than ever on academic staff to provide open and accessible materials. There is quite a journey still ahead, however, in weaning academics off their manipulated reliance on prescribing overpriced commercial textbooks and proprietary learning materials. Instead, its time to go the other way, and to work collaboratives on high quality, open access, online knowledge. The technology for pursuing this is readily available (e.g., see Wikiversity.

HTML editing

I have traditionally used Microsoft Frontpage as an html editor and like it. However, it creates junky, bloated html code if you don't know what you're doing (I'm still cleaning up old html code written with Frontpage), is known to be the MS software with worst standards compliance and is no longer in active production. I also use HTML-Kit as an html editor and a suped-up text editor. However, its WYSIWIG properties aren't as good as FrontPage. So, I think l will eventually transition to some other free software html editor. The front runner looks like NVU, a mature, free, cross-platform html editor. Another alternative is to use Open Office Writer, but its a bit limited in its html editing functionality at the moment.

I personally think there's still much to be said for presenting information via simple html pages and equipping students with the skills to do so. Chances are, in their future careers, knowing some basic html editing will be handy. LMSs and CMSs are basically just hosted WYSIWIG html editors. Just as students are expected to have basic word processing and spreadsheet competence, so to I think it would valuable to consider more widespread teaching of html coding and also wiki markup. These two techniques empower people with the electronic language tools to communicate effectively via the web.

I've learnt that its important to keep the html stripped down to its bare bones, with minimal formatting, and to 'skin' the html content via cascading style sheets (CSS). Among other efficiencies, this enhances the portability and ease for reuse of information.

The critical feature of web-based text is of course the use of hyperlinks. This article makes use hyperlinking in effort to facilitate a more meaningful experience for the reader than would probably occur through hard copy only reading. So, html allows more than simply putting information online, its really about interconnecting, sharing, and interweaving information.

For these reasons, and in the absence of finding a suitable LMS or CMS, I simply present the webpages for my units as interlinked html or php pages. This is a somewhat old, basic approach, but for me its fast, reliable, light-weight and effective. The main feature it lacks in my mind is the ability for students to comment on or edit pages. That's why Web2.0 tools such as wikis are promising and high on my priority list for further experimentation.

Hosting

UC does not provide staff with admin access to servers, so I pay for an externally hosted virtual server where I place unit materials. This is primarily because I can get near full control over how the material will be presented. The external host provides a virtually hosted Apache web server with mysql and phpadmin. The rest can be configured.

Despite the exciting possibilities of Web2.0 principles and applications for learning, I have a strong orientation towards simplicity and usability. Thus, for example, it is important to me that content is:

  • Not hidden behind passwords
  • Fast to download, with
  • Clean interface
  • Simple navigation

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

FTP software allows transfer of files between a desktop and a server. I transfer materials I prepare via SmartFTP to the hosted server. It is faster and more simple than using web-based systems, but requires ftp login access to a server.

Gradebook

An online gradebook is the one functionality which I continue to rely on an institutional LMS to perform. The UC OA implementation of Drupal doesn't yet have a gradebook. There is one in Moodle, but an installation of Moodle just for its gradebook seems excessive. This illustrates why LMSs might be better constructed as stand-alone, but integrable modules. Even when an a gradebook package is identified, there will be the issue of getting institutional permission to automatically register students via LDAP. Academic staff do not have direct access to LDAP and therefore rely on institutionally customised LMS packages for access to automatic student registration. However, this could be overcome and in future, I hope to find a free software online gradebook solution because its a fairly straight-forward yet widely needed function.

Wiki

A wiki, among other uses, provides arguably the quickest and simplest way of creating collaborative online content. UC has implemented Confluence, an enterprise, proprietary wiki software system for staff and students. For most of my wiki notes I use DokuWiki, which is free software, although I've been transitioning my UC-related wiki notes over to Confluence to explore its potential and so that staff who teach the units I teach units in future will have a legacy of relevant links, notes, and resources.

Confluence is a highly functional wiki and potentially could be be used as a primitive but functional LMS. However, I am hesitant to pursue Confluence much beyond its potential for UC-related note-taking and file-sharing tool because it is not free software and I don't see much point in teaching with software which students aren't likely to have ready access to in their future and nor might I once I leave employment of the institution. Confluence is nevertheless a fully functional wiki which could be used to foster valuable electronic collaboration between staff, students, and the outside world, particularly for to local and short to medium-term projects.

Unfortunately UC hasn't rolled Confluence out with much gusto in the way of training or support. Uptake is progressing slowly, but at least the institution, including students and staff, have have a powerful wiki readily available. Confluence content can also be opened to public access and editing, so it provides the most openly enabled electronic interface for UC members to share and develop electronic content.

There are currently some technical limitations with using in teaching, such as it is only possible to bulk add students to a name space on its creation (not subsequently). The blog tool is not producing proper RSS feeds, etc. I written a separate article about my initial assessment of UCSpace).

I have created several open access name spaces on Confluence, including ones for each of the units I teach:

I use these spaces to collect administrative information and links, mostly for teaching staff. The content is open access in order to provide transparency and opportunities for peer review and collaboration.

In the future, I intend to experiment more with MediaWiki because it is the most powerful and 'academically'-oriented free software wiki software. Also training staff and students to use MediaWiki will help to empower them as editors of Wikipedia and similar sites.

Social bookmarking

Bookmarking of webpages is commonly done either within a web browser or, for academic referencing universities and academia, tends to push proprietary products such as EndNote and RefWorks, despite the uptake and user satisfaction with these products being pretty low.

I think free social bookmarking services have much to offer in way of collaborative and easy to use bookmarking. I store 6000 or so bookmarks in del.icio.us. My bookmarks are publicly available. I sometimes link students to specific tags e.g., my bookmarks for multiple linear regression. Over time, I hope to find more ways to introduce and encourage students to create and share their bookmarks.

To create bookmarks, I use the del.icio.us extension for firefox.

Concept mapping

For constructing diagrams, I've primarily been using OO Draw, but have also been exploring various concept mapping (also called mind mapping) software tools, including FreeMind and CMAP. I'm not convinced yet there's a lot to be gained in teaching with these tools, but they seem to work for some. Concept mapping is a useful skill to use, but I think it tends to work better on paper and whiteboards than electronically. However, this is just a personal preference. The new UC Vice-Chancellor has been giving some effective presentations, for examples, based on MindJet Pro (proprietary software).

My other concern/caution about concept mapping software is mainly the portability of the text and relationships into other formats. This is becoming less of an issue, with concept mapping software programs increasingly able, for example, to be rendered in html and xml.

I have started experimentation with two free programs,FreeMind and CMAP, for creating some basic concept map diagrams for use in presentations and in website materials, but usually I find that I'm drawing quite basic images for presentation and that for those jobs OO Draw is perfect. If you want to investigate further, FreeMind is more basic and CMAP is more advanced. I've tagged more information "conceptmappingsoftware" on del.icio.us - concept mapping software. As well as the desktop applications, there are also a growing number of web-based options for image editing, drawing and storing diagrams e.g., see CumulateDraw. There are also plugins such as Gliffy for wikis such as Confluence

Quizzes and exams

Previously I've experimented with online quizzes and exams, building test banks using Respondus and delivering the quizzes through WebCT. Both are proprietary systems, so I'm on the hunt for an alternative. Hot Potatoes is free for educational use and has several features of interest, but is for quiz generation and web presentation, without the capacity for storing participant grades. Moodle I think should be able to handle quiz functionality reasonably well and deserves further investigation in this respect.

For other various reasons (including less tutorial lab time due to a reduction in credit points from 4 to 3 per unit), I've opted to revert for the moment to a more traditional style mid-semester and exam of semester using hard-copy multi-choice exams with automatic marking sheets. The scanning and marking is performed by the university Print Room. They are very efficient and return all the data, including each person's response to each item and scores, in a .csv spreadsheet.

Down the track, I hope to switch back to online quizzes and exams because it offers additional features, such as the potential for immediate feedback and help to students. However, there are hurdles, such as hardware and invigilation. Ideally, we need a room full of 100 or so terminals configured to allow mass sitting of electronic exams. Or perhaps several rooms in Building 10 could be booked out - worth looking into. Or maybe we look more towards handheld devices.

Online surveys

Lime Survey (formerly phpsurveyor) is free software which can be readily installed on a server with php and mysql, and allows considerable online survey functionality. I trialled use of Lime Survey to conduct a unit evaluation and to seek student feedback. View the draft unit evaluation survey(from a student perspective). I have also blended quantitative ratings by students with options to contribute anonymous or non-anonymous public forum comments via Confluence. The draft of this approach is currently for comments and adaptations before being rolled out to students in the final week of semester.

Insert Table plus Figure showing online survey results

I am coming now to appreciate that feedback should be sought throughout the process and in multiple modes, thus now that I have experimented with an end-of-semester online survey and confluence comment boards, I will seek to extend this functionality, for example, to allow commenting about each lecture.

For example, using wiki software and possibly also polling/rating functionality for unit materials will allow micro-comments by students on each learning object and section. I find I get some of this through direct emails and face to face comments from students during semester, but the mechanisms should be as easy as possible for students and allow anonymity.

Bigger picture needs

UC provides staff with limited access to survey creation software. There are quiz and survey tools within WebCT, but these can't readily be used for surveying people for research purposes outside of the context of a unit. For research purposes we need access to generic online survey software which can be used for research purposes and for tasks such as gathering student evaluations and feedback on teaching and educational quality. Currently, UC has a patchwork of separate data collection systems for specific purposes, but a distinct lack of such functionality is directly available to academic staff for a wide range of teaching and research purposes. Staff are not able to freely gather via the internet data via UC resources.

Thus, part of the bigger picture may be a the need for the university to examine the inter-relationship between the SFS, USS, and the CEQ, bearing in mind their different values and purposes. The university may also like to invite teaching staff to innovate with more dynamic methods of gathering evaluation and feedback information from students for their professional development, such as by using Web2.0 technology. Ultimately, a unit should have readily available, easy to use methods for student feedback since this is basic to good quality, democratic, emancipatory education.

Conclusions and recommended changes

Based on the evaluation and feedback from students this semester, the following conclusions and recommendations are drawn. By making these transparent and in the public domain, it is hoped it will help to enhance my professional accountability.

Insert table of conclusions and recommendations

I'm going to trial this semester collecting feedback via anonymous, private ratings and comments via an externally hosted Lime Survey and anonymous or non-anonymous public forum space comments on UCSpace.

Conclusion


The aim of this article has been to provide a sketch of my journey towards emancipatory use of free software, open file formats, open access, and openly licensed materials in university teaching, research, and service. None of what is described involves rocket-science. However, the approach does represent an ambitious humanitarian, values-based pedagogy. This approach emerges from my view of universities and university staff as having fundamental responsibilities to students, colleagues and broader society for sharing information and knowledge and for making open learning and research opportunities available.
I am experimenting with a variety of free and open source software tools and also continuing to use legacy proprietary software where its functionality isn't readily replicated by free software alternatives. Along the way various institutional enablements and limitations are encountered. Institutional support and encouragement to experiment with an open academic approach was critical to the progress which has been made.
However, I have become accustomed to sending requests to IT and Teaching Support in order to help work out how a problem might be solved. I have also begun to offer more feedback and suggestions up the management chain. Sometimes this makes a difference, but by and large universities seem to be slow moving, policy-laden beasts (often in contrast to the vibrancy of intellectual endeavour which engages rapid developments in technology and free software tools). Much help, however, can be found elsewhere. For example, I learned much through connecting with cutting-edge online educators via the Teach and Learn Online discussion group (e.g., see my postings).
For myself and others willing to live at the bleeding edge and keen to teach within an authentic, emancipatory 21st century pedagogical context, the way forward for integrated and ethical teaching, research, and services appears to be action-experimentation with an increasingly free software toolbox, along with open file formats, open access, and open licensing which fundamentally boils down to a free and open philosophy.
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