Changing the World of Wikipedia with Dried Cranberries...

Retrieved November 9, 2011 from personal Flickr account http://flic.kr/p/aDf9kx 

In ALES 204 we are leaving our personal footprint on the internet. I now have my own blog, Flickr account, Delicious account, Twitter account, and now a Wikipedia account! The assignment was to add to a stub on Wikipedia. A stub is an article on Wikipedia that is deemed as incomplete, and people are encouraged to add valid information to it. There are many, many stubs on Wikipedia-thus the possibilities are endless! The stubs are organized into topics-ranging from athlete biographies to vegetables to rock songs. I chose to add to the "Dried Cranberries" stub because I am in Nutrition and love food. I also have to admit it was because I have this excellent recipe for White Chocolate Craisin Cookies....and it reminded me of them. Now to get back on track...

To my surprise, the process of editing a Wikipedia page was actually quite simple. When I first went to edit the page, it looked overwhelming with the reference coding. However, once I figured out the <ref name=""> </ref> coding, I was good to go.

This assignment has given me a more positive outlook on Wikipedia, because as long as the author cites the information, one has a source to look back upon. I don't believe Wikipedia is appropriate for scientific articles, but if in need of a quick reference, this can be a source. In an article posted in the Edmonton Journal last week, it further mentioned that Wikipedia can be a source of information, but should not be your only source.

Through this Wikipedia page I feel as if I have made a contribution to the internet. I know this was a small contribution, however it is neat to think that when "Dried Cranberries" is searched on Google, my page can be a resource for people. And just as Kate mentioned, Wikipedia allows us to share our knowledge with others. So go on, update a wikipedia article and spread some knowledge.

Click here to see the Flickr screenshot.


*Note: I did not write the 1st paragraph in Benefits or the paragraph that begins with "Cranberries also have an anti-adhesion...". 

Science Article Assignment

One of the assignments in ALES 204 was to complete a comparison of a journal from 15-20 years ago to a current edition of the journal. Due to my interest in Nutrition, I chose the Journal of Nutrition. This journal dates back to September, 1928! Portraying nutritional information is not a recent concept, and dates back more than 80 years!


When reading some of the articles for this assignment, as I was thinking about the importance of communicating scientific information. Before coming to university, I was unaware there were scientific journals filled with articles that were published monthly for scientists to read and reference to. (Looking back on this now, I am not sure how I thought scientists communicated their information?) Yet, once attending university, I was bombarded with knowledge from professors or textbooks. However, ultimately this knowledge was from a scientific article, published by researchers into a journal. This is the basis of communicating science information from Edmonton, Canada to Shanghai, China and back. 


However, one of the issues that arise from scientific articles is the type of language, or jargon used in these articles. 


1st year me: "What, you want me to read this? None of these words make sense!"
3rd year me: "Okay, I can understand some parts of the article really well, and some not so much. Some of the parts I understand, I actually get excited to read because I might have just learned about that in my Biochemistry class." 

Portraying this information in a language that all can understand is the job of graduates with university degrees. As an aspiring registered dietitian, I will be a "recognized expert in translating scientific, medical and nutrition information into practical individualized therapeutic diets and meal plans for people"(College of Dietitians of Alberta, 2010). My role in society will be to understand these scientific articles and help the public in understanding how to better their health, based on recent findings. My fellow classmate, Naomi shares similar thoughts on her blog stating we as nutrition experts have to put the science into simple terms. Naomi also states the importance of the use of social media sites to 
promote health facts quickly, like "wildfire". 


By comparing these articles from two different time periods, I was able to see some advancement in science through the very specific research done currently, and the technological advancements such as computers. I look forward to seeing what the advancements will be during my career.  


Photo:
From L. Adam (personal collection, Nov 2011)
References:


College of Dietitians of Alberta. (2010). About Registered Dietitians. Retrieved from http://www.collegeofdietitians.ab.ca/Public/About RegisteredDietitians.aspx