Jason Bryer

As an undergraduate one of the rites of passage for seniors was taking Bruce Johnston’s Junk Food Theology course. The idea arose out of the observation that during the 20th century in America there was on one hand a decline in attendance at weekly religious services but on the other, an increase in those who believe in some version of God. How could such an event occur was the question raised by Prof. Johnston in the first class. His theory is that societies religious and spiritual needs are being met and supported by popular culture. More specifically, by movies. Seeing a movie such as Star Wars, and the subsequent near cult (or dare I say religious) following it’s not hard to see the parallels to more traditional religious stories.

If one were to accept this theoretical framework then it stands to reason that popular culture significantly influences individual beliefs, and core beliefs at that. In what other ways is popular culture influencing our beliefs?

In a recent study I conducted regarding math anxiety, one of the results was that 66% of pre-service teachers identified as having math anxiety. Moreover, according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, 2003) the United States ranked 14th in mathematics ability in eight grade. I was also stuck by how readily participants admitted, and even bolstered, about their dislike and lack of ability in mathematics. It would appear that it is socially acceptable to be poor in mathematics.

Now thinking about Johnston’s course I began to wonder if perhaps popular culture is in some way supporting this culture of math ambiguity. True to Johnston’s form, I began thinking about how mathematicians are portrayed in movies. Here are some recent movies containing a mathematician:

• Proof, 2005
• A Beautiful Mind, 2001
• Pi, 1998
• Good Will Hunting, 1997
• Contact, 1997 (admittedly I know Jodi Foster played an astronomer, but I couldn’t resist referencing Carl Sagan and is consistent to my point)
• Jurassic Park, 1993

The characteristic common to the mathematicians portrayed in each of this movies is that they are at minimum eccentric, or at worst crazy. We can’t underestimate the influence popular culture has over one’s beliefs. I’ll admit, I find each of these movies very entertaining. But I also approach them from a very different point of view given my mathematics background. But for many this is probably their only exposure to mathematicians outside of their high school teachers. However, according to my results, 44% have already experienced at least one significant negative math experience before even entering high school. Research suggests that parents and teachers are a significant correlate to children who develop math anxiety (Norwood, 1994; Tobias, 1995; Williams, 1988; Greenwood, 1984; Handler, 1990). Clearly there is a chicken and egg problem, but at this juncture answering this question is academic. We must begin to attempt to counter the culture of math ambiguity.

That is not to say this hasn’t already begun. The CBS show Numb3rs is portraying mathematics in a much more positive light. One of the shows advisers and faculty member at Williams College, Edward Burger, has written an excellent book Chaos, Coincidences, and all that Math Jazz that attempts to present relatively complex mathematical concepts in a form that anyone can understand. John Allen Paulos with his books regarding innumeracy provide insight into the consequences of poor mathematical understanding. And if you fin yourself grappling with math anxiety, Sheila Tobias’ book Overcoming Math Anxiety is a must read.

With the continued technological advances and statistical studies (both political and otherwise) it is critical that everyone have some basic level of mathematical literacy. Though I wouldn’t suggest that great storier as those in the movies mentioned above not be told, we need to get to a point where they have an unfortunate consequence of perpetuating a culture of math ambiguity, or what Paulos would call, innumeracy.

The latest issue of Innovate Journal of Online Education has an interview with Trevor Owens, a technology evangelist for George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media. Of interest is the planned 2.0 version due out in 2008 that will include server side functionality.

Innovate: Next-Generation Bibliographic Manager : An Interview with Trevor Owens:

James Morrison’s interview with Trevor Owens explores Zotero, a free, open-source bibliographic tool that works as a Firefox plug-in. Previous bibliographic software, such as EndNote or Refworks, worked either online or offline to collect references and citations. Zotero leverages the power of the browser to allow users to work either online or offline and integrates citations with other research materials in a way that promises to reshape the way research is done. Zotero 2.0, due out in early 2008, will expand the potential of Zotero by providing server-side functions that allow for the sharing of bibliographies and accompanying annotations.

As a graduate student I’ve amassed a large number of research articles and books. The question is, how do you keep all of this information organized as to be able to find information later? The answer is: bibliography software. There are many options available for both Windows and Mac but the two clear leaders are Zotero and Endnote. For a while now I’ve been using both; Zotero to collect reference and Endnote to manage citations.

Zotero, which is a Firefox plugin, makes the process of adding references to you library incredibly easy. When viewing a page (e.g. from EBSCO or Amazon.com) you simply click an icon in the address bar and magically all of the data is imported into you personal library. You can even attach (or take a snapshot) of web pages and/or PDF files when available. Once a reference is in your library you can attach tags (think keywords), notes, or any other file (e.g. PDF, Word document, csv, etc). With all your references collected into a single repository it becomes very easy to find that article from a few years ago.

But collecting and organizing your references is only the beginning. Zotero and Endnote both include a Microsoft Word plugin (Zotero also has a plugin for OpenOffice) that will assist in adding citations from your library (Endnote calls this Cite While You Write, or CWYW). When you reach a point where you need to insert a citation, you click a button on the provided toolbar. This will then take you to your library where you can search and find the desired reference(s). Click insert and your citation is placed at the cursor. Both programs provide a wide variety of styles including APA, Chicago, and MLA not to mention many different journal specific formats.

When using citations you’re inevitably going to need a references page. Endnote will do this automatically once you insert your first citation. Zotero will also automatically manage your reference page but you first have to insert it where you would like (it’s just one click on Zotero toolbar).

My workflow until now has involved collecting references with Zotero, exporting my library in RIS format (using RIS instead of Endnote, which Zotero supports, will preserve notes), and then importing the exported library to Endnote. This is because the beta version of Zotero did not format citations exactly write. However, with the official 1.0 version of Zotero out, it’s Word plugin is just as good as Endnote’s. At this point I would recommend that everyone get started with Zotero (it is free after all!) especially given that you can easily move your library from Zotero to Endnote later if necessary. That said, many universities and institutions have invested in Endnote. Plus Endnote allows for separate libraries which, when collaborating with colleagues, can be useful when sharing. Zotero provides one library but does have collections within the library. Which every your choice, Zotero is the clear winner for collecting your references.

For completion sake, I’ve included the list of all the bibliographic software, along with their prices (as of this writing), that may worth looking into. Some of these have been designed for specific disciplines so it may be worth looking into if you have specific needs that Zotero or Endnote does not satisify.