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March 14, 2007

Happy Pi Day

March 14 --> 3/14 --> 3.14... get it?

Some links of interest:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/index.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Pi-Day

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070311-103835-2325r.htm

http://www.piday.org/

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Posted by keg at 8:56 AM

March 10, 2007

Being Fake

The path to succeed often leads people to show their true nature.

Take Laura L. Callahan. She was hired in 2003 as the Department of Homeland Security's deputy Chief Information Officer. However, her degrees were fake:

Laura L. Callahan was very proud of her Ph.D. When she received it a few years ago, she promptly rewrote her official biography to highlight the academic accomplishment, referring to it not once or twice but nine times in a single-page summary of her career. And she never let her employees at the Labor Department, where she served as deputy chief information officer, forget it, even demanding that they call her "Doctor."

Callahan's management style had always been heavy-handed. Once, while working in a previous supervisory role at the Clinton White House, she reportedly warned computer workers to keep quiet about an embarrassing server glitch that led to the loss of thousands of archived e-mails covered by federal subpoena. But with her newly minted Ph.D., Callahan became intolerable, several employees say, belittling and even firing subordinates who did not understand the technical jargon she apparently picked up while studying for her doctorate in computer information systems.

One employee was skeptical of Callahan's qualifications, however, and began quietly asking questions. The answers worried him, especially after Callahan was hired in 2003 as the Department of Homeland Security's deputy chief information officer. His concerns and the resulting investigation ultimately revealed a troubling pattern of résumé fraud at federal agencies, including several charged with protecting Americans from terrorism. The scandal raises serious doubts about the government's ability to vet the qualifications of public employees on whom the nation's security depends.

Wikipedia also had a recent debacle with one of their editors---a professor of religion who published and edited Wikipedia pages, turned out to be a 24 year-old kid:

Internet site Wikipedia has been hit by controversy after the disclosure that a prominent editor had assumed a false identity complete with fake PhD.

The editor, known as Essjay, had described himself as a professor of religion at a private university.

But he was in fact Ryan Jordan, 24, a college student from Kentucky who used texts such as Catholicism for Dummies to help him work.

And a report from the General Accounting Office found 463 government employees who received degrees from three unaccredited schools, in "Diploma Mills: Federal Employees Have Obtained Degrees from Diploma Mills and Other Unaccredited Schools, Some at Goverment Expense."

But do not think such activity is limited to the US. Even members of the U.N. pad their resumes in order to be given top posts:

The United Nations fired a staff member in November because his academic degrees turned out to have been bought from a well-known Internet-based agency, not earned at an accredited university, a U.N. official said.

The incident was especially embarrassing because Trinity College and University is on a list of universities and colleges offering degrees for life experiences rather than formal education that had been circulated at the United Nations, U.N. staff members said Friday.

Jonathan Blankson, chief of the Human Resources Information Technology Section, had been suspended for 11 months before he was terminated, the staff members said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

And a candidate for Israel's tourism minister, Esterina Tartman, tried faking her degrees. The amazing thing is the response these people give when caught:

"She acknowledged that her claims to a master's degree were wrong but suggested that was a minor issue because she had studied for an MA."

Even Arnold is affected by fake people:

In another recent example, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced March 1 that he had appointed Jack Corrie to a high-level information technology position in the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

But Corrie's credentials include a bachelor's and a master's from the University of Palmers Green, which is a fake university, according to John Bear, an expert on online learning and diploma mills.

Just remember, trust, but verify---the US Department of Education maintains a searchable online database that includes the names and addresses of all schools accredited by organizations recognized by the federal government.

And, we are our deeds.

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Posted by keg at 3:58 PM