kattegrot

heritage and hysterics

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:23:39 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

This gorgeous photo of The Queen in Melbourne on the Royal Tram made me smile this morning.

I've long been a proponent of an Australian Republic - but the populist hysteria of politicians, this photo, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands is actually making me rethink that position.

At least for today. Long may she reign over us.

"Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she rides on the royal tram down St Kilda Road"
Photo from Getty Images published on theage.com.au

Sticks and Stones and Speech

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:01:54 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

THE law does treat race differently: it is not unlawful to publish an article that insults, offends, humiliates or intimidates old people, for instance, or women, or disabled people. Professor Joseph, director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University, said in principle ''humiliate and intimidate'' could be extended to other anti-discrimination laws. But historically, racial and religious discrimination is treated more seriously because of the perceived potential for greater public order problems and violence.
Peter Munro The Age 2 Oct 2011

Ahaaa. Now I get it! We've been doing it wrong.

Racial villification is against the law because it might be more likely to lead to violence than villifying women, the elderly or the disabled.

Interesting debates and articles about free speech and discrimination are bobbing up and down in the flotsam and jetsam of the Bolt decision. Much of it seems to hinge on some kind of legal see-saw around notions of a bad law about bad words.

I've always been a proponent of the sticks and stones philosophy. For those not familiar, it's the principle behind a children's nursery rhyme.

Sticks and Stones may break my bones
But words will never hurt me

But I'm increasingly disturbed by the hateful culture of online comment. I am a very strong proponent of the human right to free expression, and abhor censorship, but I'm seriously sick of "My right to free speech" being used as the ultimate excuse for people using words to denigrate, humiliate, intimidate, belittle and attack others, particularly women.

We should defend a right to free speech, but condemn hate speech when ever and where ever we see it. Maybe we actually need to get violent to make this stop? Surely not.

Qantas Pilots

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:26:52 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

The Qantas Pilot Safety culture is something worth fighting to protect. I read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers whilst on board a Qantas flight recently. While Qantas itself isn't mentioned in the book, a footnote listed Australia as having the 2nd lowest Pilot Power-Distance Index (PDI) in the world. New Zealand had the lowest. The entire chapter "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes" is the strongest argument I've seen which explains the Qantas safety record. The experience of pilots and relationships amongst the entire air crew is a crucial differentiating factor. Other airlines work hard to develop this culture, often needing to work against their own cultural patterns to achieve it. At Qantas, and likely at other Australian airlines too, this culture is the norm.

I want Australian Qantas Pilots flying Qantas planes. I'd like an Australian in charge too.

If you too support Qantas Pilots - go to their website, sign the petition.

Do your own reading.

G.R. Braithwaite, R.E. Caves, J.P.E. Faulkner, Australian aviation safety — observations from the ‘lucky’ country, Journal of Air Transport Management, Volume 4, Issue 1, January 1998: 55-62.

Anthony Dennis, What it takes to become a Qantas pilot news.com.au, 8 September 2011.

Ashleigh Merritt, Culture in the Cockpit: Do Hofstede’s Dimensions Replicate? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, May 2000 31: 283-30.

Matt Phillips, Malcolm Gladwell on Culture, Cockpit Communication and Plane Crashes, WSJ Blogs, 4 December 2008.

Registering for LCA2012

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:08:19 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

I am right now, at this very minute, registering for linux.conf.au in Ballarat in January. Creating my planet feed. Yep. Uhuh.

I reckon the "book a bus" feature of rego is pretty damn cool. I won't be using it, because I'll be driving up from Melbourne. Serious kudos to the Ballarat team. Also nice to see they'll add busses from Avalon airport as well as from Tullamarine airport if there's demand.

Too cool.

Printing History

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:11:42 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

I recently kicked in a few dollars to the linotype film project. A bunch of guys are making a documentary about the famous linotype machine. Preserving this history is important, so I gladly chipped in a few dollars.

But it reminded me of an even more important project close to home. The Melbourne Museum of Printing. I've still never got around to visiting, but I do hope to change that soon. The website says they have a fantastic new location in Footscray, but are desperate for volunteers to help get it set up and operating.

Over the years they've run courses for students, graphic designers, academics and the curious of all shapes and persuasions to learn the precious arts of printing on paper with type. Whether handset or machine set, there is something about the very process of composing printed pages this way that gives you an understanding you just can't glean from digital methods.

I must make time, and spare some cash to support this incredible treasure in our midst.

Drupaledu

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 22:04:51 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

During the Open Space on Drupal and Education I scribbled some rough notes as folks introduced themselves and outlined their interest in the broad topic.

Distilling that interest into its purest essence, I'dsay that Drupal in Education is about Learning Drupal, Teaching Drupal and Using Drupal to support Teaching and Learning.

Mixel coordinated arranging the time, place and facilitated the action. He's been thinking and writing about issues around Drupal and Education for sometime now at http://mixel.be/ He's also on twitter @mixelKiemen

Luke from Ecobee indicated an interest in Drupal Training, as did Fin. Who was also interested in Drupal for schools, and using Drupal for learning about web development. Which prompted me to make a note about looking at Drupal as a means for kids to do e-portfolios. I heard Lenva Shearing speak about eportfolios at the CEGSA conference last year. She referenced New Zealand work on Portfolios in educational practice that predates the "do it online" approach - which I've yet to track down. While Lenva herself wasn't a huge fan of Mahara, I think it's still worth looking at as a way web based technologies support teaching and learning - check out http://myportfolio.school.nz

Peter Jones introduced himself by saying he'd been a nurse for 40 years, and was now engaged in teaching clinical skills. He's started using Drupal to support his work on the Hodges Health Care Domains Model. This prompted me to think of TPACK - Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge - and the intersection of different areas of knowledge - and those folk who develop expertise in the intersections really have a lot to offer and learn from each other.

Peter also raised the importance of tracking student understanding - again, something portfolios are successfully addressing.

Next up was Justin, also from Ecobee - who wanted to explore learning Drupal - how to learn, where to start? He said in the past when he needed to pick up a new language he picked up the thickest book he could find and read it from cover to cover, and whilst not a perfect method it did give him enough knowledge to know how to continue his self-learning journey. There's nothing like this for Drupal, and Drupal is too vast for this approach. Nevertheless roadmaps are required to guide self-learners. There are a lot of resources on line, but this is fragmented. Videos, books, projects such as the Kata and Dojo, training being provided by Drupal shops such as NodeOne, Previous Next, Chapter Three, Lullabot, Four Kitchens and by Acquia itself.

Consensus emerged there really is a need to have a clear starting point. What are the foundation skills required for learning how to use Drupal, and what should you learn first? Later in the conference, Diana Dupuis from Four Kitchens presented beautifully her ideas on the key madskillz needed by a Drupalista. Heather James and Dominik Lukes also delivered a session during the conference outlining their background research on this very problem, and the start of a solution. Check out the recording of "How do you know that gal knows Drupal?"

But back to the Open Space session - Ian Lynch of INGOTs fame spoke about their experience in getting the INGOTs certification process accepted in the UK and EU, and the importance of a recognised certification or qualification in formal education.

Steven James and Jason Pamental from Schoolyard are working directly on delivering Drupal sites to K-12 schools in the US. Jason also told us about Schoology - a great web app for teachers, built with Drupal. "Learn Together" is their slogan.

Carl Hinton from Tanzania works with Public Zone, sadly my notes are sketchy here, I've just written down charities and Moodle.

Phillip from a University Student Union highlighted the reality of using Drupal at the coalface - the real issues around using Drupal, learning how to use it, and the real benefits it offers the student cohort.

Chris was a freelance graphic designer, and has been working on Transition hubs.

Then we heard from Mieke and Ifung spoke briefly about the Learning Drupal meetups in London.

Victoria from the European Bioinformatics Institute is doing great things with Drupal and shared insights from the considerable research process her team went through to choose Drupal for their mission. Her experience as a classroom teacher, and web developer really showed. I'm looking forward to learning more about what they're doing, and how they got there. They evaluated Moodle and Atutor - and even though Drupal isn't a learning management system, it rose to the top to solve their issues.

Will Hall is a freelancer, interested in education issues, learning Drupal, and working on an LMS type solution.

Nick Abbot from i-Kos is a Drupal trainer with years of classroom experience and was keen to explore strategic marketing of Drupal to managers and decision makers in the education sector.

Eric Ludwig, director of learning services at Acquia also popped in to see what was going on.

Florian / Florence - something? I can't read my own handwriting said he'd just finished working with an apprentice and was soon to start mentoring two more. This is an important, tried and tested way to gain skills, should we be looking at this further? I think so.

And a couple of people joined us later - I'm kicking myself I didn't write down their names. Before pausing for lunch we broke up into smaller discussions. I heard more from Ian Lynch on the progress of INGOTs and success in the European framework, and then sat at the "LMS" table. From that discussion, two action items emerged. One - to identify the current state of play - what available distributions are already targetting education, what are the common components, and really identify the problem we are trying to solve. Which led me to suggest we need a catalogue of online pedagogies. But, more on that another time, when I've had a chance to do some basic research.

Speaking at OSCON (and some secret discount codes)

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:49:25 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

After hearing such good things about it from my fossfolk friends over the years I'm delighted to be going to OSCON for the first time this year. Not only attending, but delivering a 3.5 hr tutorial on Inkscape. It's scheduled for 9am Monday 25 July.

Inkscape: Basic Tools and Techniques

You can read the abstract on the OSCON site. They've opened session abstracts for comments. This is a great way to generate dialogue between speaker and attendees before the event. I'm not sure how successful it will be, but I'm all up for giving it a red hot go. Drop me a line there if you're planning to attend my session. Let me know where you're at with Inkscape, and what you'd like to learn, and I may be able to customise my material for you in advance. Here's a quick screencast that show 4 different ways to draw a square.

Edit: Direct link to the screencast itself: http://www.screenr.com/djNs

Edit: I've uploaded the SVG file used in the screencast. FourSquares.svg

Save 20% on OSCON Registration

Speaking of attending - O'Reilly have offered speakers a unique discount registration code - mine's not a hard secret to guess, it's Benjamin. If 5 people sign up for any package with my code, I'll get one free all access gold pass to the entire event to give to one lucky someone.

Save $25 and get Free access to the expo

But there's also a free pass for anyone who just wants to attend the expo, parties and famous "hallway track" - use code EXPOPASS to save $25

ICT - a general capability?

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:14:33 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

The government has been engaged in the development of a new nation wide curriculum for some time now. The curriculum authority ACARA is currently calling for feedback and survey responses on the General Capabilities.

You need to register to view the General Capabilities and to respond to the consultation online.

To help engage more people in this important consultation I've copied the conceptual statement, and continuum for the ICT general capability, as well as the survey and turned these into PDFs for download. The website is licensed CC NC SA - so I republish this content here under that license.

The survey needs to be returned by 7 August 2011 to generalcapabilities@acara.edu.au with the subject heading General capabilities survey.

The Australian Curriculum consultation website provides this overview as introduction to the General Capabilities:

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA 2008) states that school education is to support all young people in Australia becoming successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.
The Melbourne Declaration identifies skills essential for twenty-first century learners – literacy, numeracy, ICT, thinking, creativity, teamwork and communication. It describes individuals who can manage their own wellbeing, relate well to others and make informed decisions about their lives; and citizens who behave with moral and ethical integrity, relate to and communicate across cultures, work for the common good and act with responsibility at local, regional and global levels.
In the Australian Curriculum general capabilities play a key role in realising these goals. General capabilities encompass a set of knowledge, skills and dispositions that will assist students to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century. They have been developed to align with the national goals. They also build on significant state and territory initiatives introduced over the past decade and are informed by recent international best practice.
The Australian Curriculum includes seven general capabilities:
Literacy
Numeracy
Information and communication technology (ICT) competence
Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social competence
Ethical behaviour
Intercultural understanding
Throughout their schooling, students develop and use these capabilities in their learning across the curriculum, in co-curricular programs and in their lives outside school.

Seed 100 - Ada Initiative Campaign

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:11:48 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

The first Ada Initiative fundraising campaign is underway. For the month of June, Mary Gardiner and Valerie Aurora are focusing their efforts on seeding their operational fund by inviting 100 people to sign up as foundational donors - the seed 100.

By contributing $512, the donor will be listed as a difference engineer, or by donating $1024 the donor will be listed as an analytical engineer. The FAQ explains:

Q. Why “Difference Engineer” and “Analytical Engineer?”
A. The pioneering inventor Charles Babbage designed two calculating machines beginning in the 1820’s, the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine.
The Difference Engine was essentially a very large mechanical calculator – capable of generating tables of numbers but not programmable and not a general-purpose computer.
The Analytical Engine was the world’s first design for a general-purpose, Turing-complete computer. Countess Ada Lovelace, the Ada Initiative’s namesake, wrote the world’s first computer program for the (as yet unbuilt) Analytical Engine in 1843.
“Difference Engineer” and “Analytical Engineer” are imaginary titles for the people who would have programmed and run Babbage’s engines if they had been built in his time.

Women are under represented, and under acknowledged in Open Source. The Ada Initiative is working to take practical action to change this.

Please help spread the word and if you can, please donate.

Inkscape - full day workshop

Wed, 25 May 2011 08:32:45 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

I'm running a full day Inkscape workshop for ICT in Education Victoria on Wed 14 September 2011 at the Statewide Resources Centre in Carlton (150 Palmerston Street)

It's aimed at absolute beginners - new to Inkscape and new to vector drawing in general.

It's sub-titled Drawing across the Curriculum because most of the attendees will be school teachers, from primary and secondary schools. We'll be exploring where graphics fit in the curriculum and how a tool like Inkscape might be helpful to teachers themselves, and whether their students might also find it useful.

We'll be exploring the vast resource of wikimedia commons SVG files and openclipart - searching for graphics relevant to classroom practice, and modifying them for specific use.

The day will start with a tour of Inkscape's tools, and an introduction to vector drawing techniques, understanding objects, editing nodes, a look at the magic of the trace bitmap tool.

We'll then shift gears to delve into graphics in the classroom - brainstorm how drawing can be just as useful in maths as it is in art, how an image might illustrate a story, or a diagram might help get the message across in an essay.

We'll finish up by diving deep into wikimedia commons and open clipart - and hopefully we'll be sharing some of our work back to those websites too.

If you're interested in coming along - register on ICTEV's website

Member Cost: $159.00
Non-member Cost: $189.00
Includes: Morning tea, lunch and tutorial files

Drupal Downunder 2012

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:11:40 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Today I met the small team getting started on putting on the next DrupalDownunder gathering.

If you're in Australia, care about Drupal and you haven't already done so, put these dates in your diary right now.

Drupal Downunder 2012
14-15 January, Melbourne
at the Jasper Hotel

Even better...
please help spread the word with a Tweet

Our venue is right in the city, near the Vic Market, and we're a whisker away from signing the venue contract.

If you're desperate for more information right now, check out what you missed in Brisbane earlier this year, at the inaugural DrupalDownunder

Image credit: Drupal Downunder by Cafuego, on Flickr

Arrividerci Connie. Ciao Bella. Ciao

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:02:37 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Edited: 20 June 2011
A memorial service was held at the Richmond Town Hall on 22 May, attended by many family, friends and colleagues. An obituary by Mary Draper has appeared in today's age.
Tough, caring reformer in social justice

A week ago we lost Concetta Benn.

She was extraordinary - and I stand alongside many others in our community with heads down, hands clasped as we mourn her passing.

"There will be no funeral." So read one of the death notices.

So in the absence of a funeral, I'm writing a blog post.

I remember Connie as a warm, hospitable woman. But also fierce and intelligent and uncompromising. She is one of the women who helped make me the woman I am.

As a significant friend and mentor to both my parents she is one of the few non-family members I could say had known me all my life. There's a week passed now for which we didn't share the planet, and many weeks to come for which that will be true. I had not seen Connie for a long time, and last time I did she had become frail in body - but was still very sharp in mind, if not in memory. She still voiced her ideas with passion and commitment, at the same time as forgetting if she'd put the kettle on or not.

But that was personal.

Professionally, her significance is well recognised. I imagine she had a similar if not greater impact on the lives of many many others than she had on me.

In 1992 friends and colleagues made a donation to the University of Melbourne in order to set up a bursary in her name to commemorate her term as a professor of social work. The Connie Benn Social Justice Bursary is open to students who migrated as adults from a non-English speaking background who are experiencing financial difficulties purchasing texts for the social work course.

In 1995 she was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to social welfare, particularly in the areas of health and education.

In 1999 she was interviewed by Ann Turner, and copy of the audio and transcript are held by the National Library. She speaks about her background and her career.

She was an ABC commissioner. Connie is quoted on the closure of Melbourne Access Radio station 3ZZ

"All sorts of people, often of opposing ideologies, helped each other, transferred skills and shared cultures. The 3ZZ building was full of warmth and loving care that materialized almost as physical force, enveloping any stranger who entered its portals.

I was interested to find out how accurate was my hypothesis that, given adequate resources, and using participation strategies, ordinary citizens could produce change in society. I now believe this hypothesis was proven, and that it was the threat of such change that caused the closure of 3ZZ.

It was closed against the wishes of the community, the State Government, the ABC and the users of the station."

In 2001 she was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to health.

In 2005 Connie's influence on how poverty is addressed in Australia was noted in an important social policy paper by Alison McClelland published by the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Centre for Public Policy called From Saving to Empowering to Including.

In 2009 Connie recorded a series of interviews for MultiCultural Australia. In one, she reflects on the growing acceptance of immigrants into Australian society.

She has published numerous books, reports and articles over the years, some of which have been added to both the Victorian State and National Library Collections. A Trove search returns a glimpse I'm sure is just the tip of the iceberg.

In 2002 she was added to the Victorian Women's Honour Roll. This is the full citation.

Concetta Benn: A leader and advocate for social justice
Concetta Benn has worked professionally for more than 40 years as a caseworker, researcher, social policy development worker, teacher, administrator and social
change agent in the fields of welfare, education and health.
Born in 1926 in Australia of Italian parents, Concetta (Connie) Benn graduated from the University of Melbourne with an Arts degree and in 1949 married Keith Benn, a young psychiatrist. They subsequently had three children. She returned to study social work in 1955 and gained her qualification in that discipline in 1957. Her first position was as a psychiatric social worker for the Mental Health Authority.
She became Vice-President of the Australian Association of Social Workers in 1958 and she was later President until 1972. Connie Benn’s first senior appointment was in 1961 as the Director of Social Work and Research for the Citizens Welfare Service.
Subsequently she was;
Associate Director, Social Policy and Research at the Brotherhood of St Laurence (1977- 82),
Head of School of Social Work (Phillip Institute of Technology, (1982-83),
Director, Social Development Division, Department of Premier and Cabinet (1983-85),
Deputy Director-General, Community Services Victoria (1985-88),
Director, Older Persons Planning Office, Community Services Victoria (1988-89),
Professor, School of Social Work, University of Melbourne (1989-91)
Chairperson, Adult Community and Further Education Board Victoria (1992-95).
Professor Benn has served on more than 20 Boards, Commissions and Task Forces and undertaken many significant reviews and consultancies.
Throughout her long career in social work, human services and social policy development, Connie Benn has always been passionately committed to social justice. She has championed the rights of people living in poverty, women, Aboriginal people, immigrants, people with disabilities, the unemployed and all who suffer social exclusion.

A remarkable woman, a remarkable leader, a wonderful human being.

Update 28 March 2011:

Connie Benn - from The Brotherhood of St Laurence timeline wiki

In October 1963, the BSL was part of an interim committee that produced a draft proposal for “An Agency For Homeless Men”. The document was written up by Connie Benn of the Citizens Welfare Service of Victoria.
Appointed of head of the Family Centre Project. (1973 - 1975).
Concetta Benn was appointed as a member of the Commonwealth Government’s Migration Task Force headed by the Minister for Immigration, Mr A.J. Grassby (1973).
Took study leave at the end of 1975 on an Australian Government post-graduate award in order to work for a Master of Arts degree at the University of Melbourne.
1977 appointed as BSL’s Director of Social Policy, Research & Innovations. (1977 - 1981).
1981 Mrs Concetta (Connie) Benn left the position of head of the Social Policy & Research Department to head the School of Social Work at Phillip Institute of Technology (now RMIT Bundoora).

web know-how

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 12:38:21 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

There's a complex set of skills involved in effective web development - and the 'industry' is filled with experts and skilled practitioners. Here's a thumbnail sketch of the range of skills needed to work the web.

Graphics.

Graphic Design, illustrations, diagrams, buttons, adverts and banners are all part of the tapestry of online communication. Visual information is just as important a part of the web as the words, so knowing how to create, edit and manipulate images, whether photographs or drawings is a key skill. We're also increasingly publishing moving pictures and sound. The ability to manipulate video and audio will soon be just as critical.

Words.

Writing for the web means re-thinking old patterns of composition. Titles and sub-headings are more useful than ever as the average person browsing the web skims the page for what they're looking for, or a summary of the detail.

Typography.

When words are pictures. Typography has a long history, much longer than the web, but it's only recently that the web has started to offer exciting possibilities for typographers. Embedding fonts, creating web fonts and using them effectively.

Curation and Aggregation.

Chances are the information you're publishing is already out there. Maybe you don't need to write it, maybe you just need to collect and summarise it. Maybe you should test the authority and credibility of a range of sources as a service to readers.

Privacy and User centred thinking.

If you're collecting information from and about your users you have a duty of care to protect that information. Or you should. Many web sites don't think carefully enough about their users, from their users perspective.

Navigation, site structure and information architecture.

The web is old enough now that there are un-written conventions on how best to present information. Yet this is still evolving and is still too often broken. People's perceptions of ease of use vary greatly based on their own experience and expectations. There is still much teaching and learning to be done here.

Search, Index, Archive, Databases.

Google reigns as the leader of search, but there are search engines behind logins that reveal much deeper and richer information on the web. How best to index data to make it available to web users.

Accessibility.

Being able to fully access the rich resources of the web is something many of us take for granted, but it's not so easy if you can't see, or type, or point and click. Accessibility for various levels of literacy and physical ability is something we should be building in to websites from the start, not trying to retro-fit afterwards, or deciding 'it doesn't matter'. It does matter. It matters alot and it's not straightforward.

That's really just a superficial tip of the iceberg. I haven't even mentioned the actual technology platforms and protocols we rely on to get these jobs done, or the basic levels of information literacy needed just to get started.

If we compare this with print publishing, there's an australian training framework that covers everything from hole punching and binding, to manipulating high level graphics applications.

So - Web Science? Where's it at in Australia? Who's doing the serious reading, writing and teaching about all things web?

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:02:57 GMT

If I stop auto-posting here... will anyone miss me?

The Ada Initiative

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 06:38:46 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Mary Gardiner and Valerie Aurora have launched The Ada Initiative.

They really want to tackle the under representation of women in open technology and culture and the want to do it full time.

I was honoured they asked me to join the advisory board, and utterly humbled when I saw the list of other women on the board. It's an extraordinary crew of talented, accomplished women. Do I really belong there? Or is that just my imposter syndrome at work?

One of the first activities of the Ada Initiative is to take the pulse of the community by issuing this census.

More details here:
http://adainitiative.org/2011/03/take-the-ada-initiative-census/

The census should be taken by people of any gender. It asks two broad sets of questions: What open projects are you working on, and what is your opinion of how women are treated in your project and in the open community in general?

If you feel yourself part of the open community in anyway, as a user, contributor or developer, please take part in the census, and please help spread the word.

Women on the line

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:52:12 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Thanks to the fabulous RosieX of geekgirl fame I was invited to speak on the National women's current affairs radio show Women on the Line. The interview was last week, and the show was broadcast on 3CR this morning.

I spoke about Digitise The Dawn, Louisa Lawson, Louisa Dunkley, Ada Lovelace and mentioned Kay Thorne and Belinda Peterson who worked on CSIRAC. I also spoke about the Ada Initiative.

Sarah Stokely was also interviewed. She spoke about women and web tech and gave a shout out to the fabulous Dreamwidth project, and noted how Amanda Palmer was using the web as an independent musician.

I just finished listening to the broadcast on 3CR radio - it will air again at 6am on Wednesday morning, but you can download the MP3 (12.9MB)

So how's the campaign to #digitisethedawn going?

Well - in a word, brilliantly.

As of writing I've just added another donation that takes us up to 49% of our target of $7500. I'd ambitiously set International Women's Day as the deadline to raise the funds. To be honest, I'm actually astounded we got half way there in a little over a month since I first announced the campaign at the close of linux.conf.au earlier this year.

Descendants of Louisa Lawson have been in touch and contributed to the fund. Some of Australia's foremost feminist academics and historians have made contributions. The National Foundation for Australian Women who run the Australian Women's Archive Project have thrown their support behind the campaign and are now accepting donations on our behalf, which means they're also now fully tax deductible.

To top it off, the National Library of Australia have informed me they intend to add The Dawn to the digitisation workplan for next financial year - assuming we get the funds to do so.

So, on the eve of International Women's Day I'm not giving up. We still need $3,810.00 to hit that target. That's just

5 donations of $762
10 donations of $381
40 donations of $100 would get us across the line.
or 100 donations of $40

What we need now is people power. Please help amplify Louisa's voice - please get the word out. See http://digitisethedawn.org/how-to-help

Digitise the Dawn

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:44:01 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Update: Campaign website now up! http://digitisethedawn.org

In 1888 Louisa Lawson launched The Dawn; a journal for women. The publication’s purpose was to be a “phonograph to wind out audibly the whispers, pleadings and demands of the sisterhood”. It advised on women's issues, including divorce, the age of consent, and women's right to vote. As well as operating as an important vehicle for the communication of feminist politics the paper also contained short stories, fashion notes, sewing patterns and reports on women's activities around the country and overseas. By October 1889, the Dawn office employed ten women as typesetters, printers, binders, and unskilled workers. They were harassed by male workers, and by their male union, The New South Wales Typographical Association. In 1905, after seventeen years, the publication ceased production.

From: http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0641b.htm

The National Library of Australia does not currently plan to digitise The Dawn, and there is no funding to do so. I've been informed $7,500 should be sufficient to see the entire publication digitised. It is currently available on microfilm in major libraries around the country, but adding it to the Trove Project would open access to this important resource for feminist historians around the world.

Australia was one of the first places to grant women the vote. The Dawn played a key role in the struggle for Australian women's suffrage.

Find out how to help Digitise the Dawn

We are here. We have always been here.

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:41:57 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Should write in detail. But it's late on day 1 of LCA - so just putting up the background notes, and the slides for today's talk at the Haecksen miniconf.

Download the slides

Haecksen2011

View more presentations from Donna Benjamin.

Notes
Title: We are here. We have always been here.
Duration: 20 mins

We are here.
We have always been here.
Our numbers ebb and flow, but our strength endures.
Why do we come and go?
We have always been here.

Feminism is an old power.

Rebecca West said
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I
only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments
that differentiate me from a doormat."

A personal potted history of feminism and female power.
An invitation to embrace feminism.

-------------------------------------------------
Random thinking...
breaking this into...
history
herstory
mystory

history
general history of feminism... and women's liberation / women's rights - including some labour history - because women's struggles for equal pay are part of this...

herstory
some notable women of information revolutions - louisa dunkley (telegraphist)
and notable australian women of tech... kay thorne - worked with csirac
idea of women as users of technology - this being unrecognised compared to creators of technology...

Database developers / database administrators (gender fractals)

mystory
feminism for me / technology for me
ecofeminism / geek feminism
why I think this all matters
and why we're not really unicorns at all.

Are we really Unicorns?

Unicorn - mythical beast
Unicorn law - destined to speak about women in foss
Unicorn myth - There are women in open source

Construct that users don't count
documenters don't count
community managers don't count
project managers and HR people don't count

Even still - there are women programmers, testers, architects... these women do exist. and they don't all need to stand up and shout about being women.

I went looking for Australian women type designers... and found lots of them.

Equal Pay

women telegraphists started to be employed in large numbers because they were cheaper - meaning telegrams could be sent more cheaply - spurring competition.

I 've wondered if the 'women computers' that were employed before electronic computers and calculaters were around - were also employed in large numbers because it was possible to get many smart women for less dollars than it was possible to get smart men.

And more women worked in the computing industry in the past, because they were employed by the large corps and orgs that could afford to buy computers...

whereas when computing became 'personal' women and girls were 'in general' less likely to own their own computers, or be given them by parents.

touching on ideas from 'outliers' 10,000 hours for mastery
and unlocking the clubhouse.

Are women programmers - paid the same as male programmers?
Or are cheap programmers found in India, China and the Phillippines?

and a last word... thanks to Jacinta Richardson for finding this great cartoon.

Haecksen T-shirt Bootleg

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:43:35 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

When the furore over the haecksen t-shirts broke out, a suggestion rippled through the 'verse that we should create our own bootleg t-shirts.

Here's my version. [available for sale at RedBubble]

You could make your own. Contact me if you want the source files.

Harassment at Conferences

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 09:48:18 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

I was involved in the development and implementation of a code of conduct for the recent OSDC2010 conference held in Melbourne last month. That code was based on a draft of the conference anti-harassment policy that's since been released at geekfeminism.wikia.org.

I really hope LCA2011 adopts an anti-harassment policy. It would be a real shame if it didn't. Incidents have occurred at our conference in the past. I imagine most people in our community who are aware of those incidents were shocked and revolted by them. Most people in our community would agree we should not put up with unwelcome sexual attention, harassment or assault. Most people would accept that having a policy sends a strong message, loud and clear, that such behaviour is not acceptable at our event.

I do agree it's a shame we need to specify this, but events have shown we do. And the time to do this is now.

Adding a more detailed and specific policy against harassment, would extend the excellent work done by Susanne Ruthven for LCA2010 in adding a clause on discrimination to the conference terms and conditions.

As a former organiser of linux.conf.au - I strongly advocate the current team adopt an anti-harassment policy.

nothing is won.

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 02:58:00 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Too busy in my mind today to get any good work done.
I read and I sigh.
I click and I ponder why.
I start on something then on something else again.
Nothing is achieved.
No sense of satisfaction rises.
Thoughts waft like whisps of smoke from topic to topic.
Anger foments, empathy saddens.
Righteous indignation erupts.
Apathy wins.
Nothing is done.
Nothing is won.

The cloud has a darkside

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 20:47:23 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

The cloud.

Put it in the cloud. Store it in the cloud. Interact in the cloud. Share it in the cloud. Collaborate in the cloud.

If you do, do you own it? If net access is not as reliable as electricity or water how do you access it? If the provider of that cloud shuts down the service or changes the rules where does that leave you?

I'll admit to being seduced by the power of 'the cloud'. Google docs has transformed my ability to collaborate on content with others. Screenr is a breathtakingly simple way to 'show' rather 'tell' how to do something on a computer screen.

And there are now countless hundreds, if not thousands, of online tools that make it easier to share ideas and create new knowledge. But if you're not paying them, you might want to ask how are they funding the service? Out of altruism? Because it's a marketing exercise / demo for their open source version? What? What guarantee will you have that the service will be there when you need it, and what recourse do you have if they choose to go away? Also - do you have exclusive rights to your data?

Just so long as you can get online, and the provider hangs around. Here are a couple of cautionary tales...

Etherpad

Etherpad hit the scene some years back. A web based collaborative text editor. Similar in function to Gobby - but didn't require client server setup, other than pointing your web browser at etherpad.com. It was great. But the guys that made it got employed by Google who wanted to roll the technology into Google Wave and Google Docs. So Etherpad was to be shut down. This one had a happy ending though, because of the outcry, Google and the Etherpad team agreed to set it free and open source the code. So now, we can all run our own etherpad servers.

EtherPad source code is free, now what? LWN.net 23 Dec 2009

Event Wax

Event Wax is a cloud based event registration service. In 2009 it's owners sent out an email saying it would be shut down. People relying on it to organise their events were given a 3 month window to make other arrangements. Fortunately, one of the customers of Event Wax saved the day and continued the service, so it's still around. But it reinforced the dangers of relying on someone else's infrastructure and policies. [updated and corrected with feedback from Kevin Taylor, owner of Event Wax]

NING

Ning is a very popular social network enabler. It used to be free. It ain't no more, and the rules changed on a lot of active communities. Well within NING's right's to do so, but it is a good example of the vulnerability of free cloud services.

Ning's Bubble Bursts TechCrunch 15 Apr 2010

Update - 18 Dec 2010

Delicious

A leaked slide from an internal presentation at Yahoo sent ripples through the twitterverse, suggesting the Delicious bookmarking service was in a Sunset phase and no longer fit the organisation's ongoing strategy. The Diigo service was bandied about as an alternative gladly accepting refugees. It seems to not be coping with the sudden influx. (I'm still waiting for a validation email about 12 hrs later) Delicious has issued a statement saying they're not shutting down. But they seem to have removed their XML export option.

creativecommons

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:43:35 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

- kattekrab

Thanks for checking out my preferred attribution methods!

I've put this short "HowTo" together because there's so much confusion around attributing credit for creative commons works. I'm not too fussed exactly HOW you attribute my work so long as you do but here's some guidelines to take away the guess work.

You do not need to attribute my work on openclipart as it is in the public domain - but if you want to you can.

However most of my work on Flickr is licensed under the Creative Commons, if it isn't, and you want to use it, please contact me. I may be able to relicense it for you unless it contains people who have not given permission to have their image used under a creative commons license.

by Donna Benjamin

Are you publishing online?

I'd appreciate a link back to the image and a link back to this blog. Link the image itself directly back to the source on Flickr, openclipart or wikimedia commons and link the words kattekrab or Donna Benjamin back to this blog here http://kattekrab.net

Online just do this:

- kattekrab

or this:

- Donna Benjamin

If you can't use the CC logo replace it with (CC) BY-SA making sure it links to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au/

(CC) BY-SA - Donna Benjamin

You might like to use a service such as ImageCodr

Are you publishing in print?

Informal

The Vineyard at Welshman's Reef - Photo by Donna Benjamin http://kattekrab.net

Donna Benjamin, "The Vineyard at Welshman's Reef" 14 Mar 2009 on Flickr (Lic: Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike)

MLA Style

Name. "Photo Title." Photograph. Website. Publisher, photo date. Web. access date.

Benjamin, Donna. "The Vineyard at Welshman's Reef." Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo!, 14 Mar 2009. Web. 7 Nov 2010

APA Style

Surname, First Initial. (Photographer, or Illustrator). (Year) Title [online image]. Retrieved date from Flickr full URL

Benjamin, D. (Photographer). (2009) The Vineyard at Welshman's Reef [online image] . 7 Nov 2010 from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/kattekrab/3358420896/

Here's some other guidelines

http://www.learnerstogether.net/how-to-use-and-cite-creative-commons-resources/312
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/publication-types/online-images#citing

Grab the creative commons buttons

Making paper

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 04:19:15 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

Making paper. There is absolutely nothing digital about it. I don't even know if it's possible to run handmade paper through a printer. Stumbled across this gorgeous paper website today. I don't even know how, or why I ended up down that rabbit hole. I think it may even have been an advert.

I am seriously, geekishly passionate about paper making. But I have not done it in years. And looking over the Neenah site rekindled this passion and left me with a sense of yearning.

So I googled 'Melbourne paper makers' and found the Papermakers of Victoria

Is there some kind of irony in a web professional being so transfixed by paper? Why do I love it? In some ways paper and the Internet are the same. They are but a blank canvas for the transmission of mind. And there's something a bit "Tao of Pooh" about that.

Paper making is quiet, soft, tranquil - at least my experience has been. Water and pulp. Mould and deckle. Patience. Tactile. Feel it between your fingers. Whilst wet it will disintegrate, once dry it has the potential to carry thought forward through time.

Long time ago I met a woman working in information security who did her own document destruction, recycling the most sensitive paper documents herself because that way she absolutely knew it could not go astray, and could not be reconstituted. Better than shredding.

Here's a totally random list of websites I've hit today.

Australian Paper is a commercial paper maker specialising in office, packaging and printing papers

At the Blue Lake Paper Mill pure white rag is beaten with water from Mount Gambier's volcanic Blue Lake to create paper for fine artists and printmakers using oils, watercolours and acrylics.

Euraba Artists and Papermakers is a group of Northern NSW indigenous artists specialising in handmade paper art.

Australian Paper Recovery buys and sells high and low grade secondary paper fibre.

Paper Online is an info site provided by CEPI the European confederation of paper industries

How to make paper is a nice illustrated step-by-step guide to making paper with a couple of videos embedded to show not tell.

Creative Paper Tasmania began as a Work for the Dole project, exploring paper making by hand, using traditional methods and unique local fibres.

IAPMO - International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists

Old blog posts

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:25:04 GMT

Originally published at KatteKrab. Please leave any comments there.

A list apart's annual survey for people who make websites asks how long ago you created your first personal website or blog.

I created my first personal website in 1995 - and my first 'blog' in 2002.

I found some old posts in the wayback machine. May try to re-assemble some of those broken digital fossils. Probably when I'm meant to be doing something else ;)

kattegrot

heritage and hysterics

Sticks and Stones and Speech

Qantas Pilots

Registering for LCA2012

Printing History

Drupaledu

Speaking at OSCON (and some secret discount codes)

Inkscape: Basic Tools and Techniques

Save 20% on OSCON Registration

Save $25 and get Free access to the expo

ICT - a general capability?

Seed 100 - Ada Initiative Campaign

Inkscape - full day workshop

Drupal Downunder 2012

Drupal Downunder 201214-15 January, Melbourneat the Jasper Hotel

Arrividerci Connie. Ciao Bella. Ciao

Concetta Benn: A leader and advocate for social justice

A remarkable woman, a remarkable leader, a wonderful human being.

web know-how

Graphics.

Words.

Typography.

Curation and Aggregation.

Privacy and User centred thinking.

Navigation, site structure and information architecture.

Search, Index, Archive, Databases.

Accessibility.

The Ada Initiative

Women on the line

So how's the campaign to #digitisethedawn going?

Digitise the Dawn

Find out how to help Digitise the Dawn

We are here. We have always been here.

Haecksen T-shirt Bootleg

Harassment at Conferences

nothing is won.

The cloud has a darkside

Etherpad

Event Wax

NING

Delicious

creativecommons

Are you publishing online?

Are you publishing in print?

Informal

MLA Style

APA Style

Making paper

Old blog posts

Drupal Downunder 2012
14-15 January, Melbourne
at the Jasper Hotel