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Wikipedia Boss Jimmy Wales: We Have a Gender Imbalance Problem and I’m Editing Articles to Address It! – Heat Street

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has fessed up to editing articles on the online encyclopedia to reverse what he refers to as the sites gender imbalance problem.

Talking to the Media Matters podcast, Wales revealed that he constructed a bookmark that directed him to the categoryBritish women novelists and would edit articles until he changed web browsers and lost his bookmark.

Wales said: One of the things that Im aware of is that Wikipedia does have a gender imbalance problem and that gender imbalance problem is reflected in the content in various ways.

One of the specific ways is that if you look at novelists who have won important literary awards, and you look at the female novelists and the male novelists, the male novelists tend to have much longer biographies. Somebody did a study showing this.

I can tell youI know hundreds of Wikipedia editors. It is not because the male wikipedia editors think female novelists are not worth reading or are uselessits an unconscious bias.

People write about the books theyve read and turns out there is a gender imbalance in the quality novels. There is such a thing as literature that is written by women and more read by women than men. OK?

But that shouldnt be reflected as a bias in Wikipedia and I thought I should on a regular basis take a look at these articles and click the page and just say, Heres a short entry. Ill go and do 10 minutes of research and see if I can find some basic facts to add to the articles. Ive done things like that and I think thats an interesting thing to do.

Wales has previously been exposed as having edited a wiki page on another website he co-founded to remove references to its porn coverage.

Among Wales most recent gender-based edits have been removing a referenceon the Wikipedia page of the novelist Marisha Pessl to her being included in an 11 of the Hottest Female Writers in the World listicle and editing the entry of scientist Dr. Kiki Sanford to add in the first sentence of her entry that she is a neurophysiologist in addition to being a science communicator. (Wales wrote, I was just comparing how we write about male vs female scientists in the public eye, stating that female scientists should have their professional qualifications in their first sentence of their entry as is the common practice with their male counterparts.)

Wales concluded on the Media Matters podcast: The gender imbalance is important and its something we are trying to focus more on but its a tough problem.

Especially when you lose your bookmark

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Wikipedia Boss Jimmy Wales: We Have a Gender Imbalance Problem and I'm Editing Articles to Address It! - Heat Street

British Student Writes College Thesis on Pepe The Frog – Heat Street

A college student in the UK has written a major paper on Pepe the Frog as part of her studies.

Yasmine Gaio, a student at Kings College London, took on the alt-right poster-boy poster-frog as her final year project.

Her 10,000-word paper, called How Pepe the Frog Took Over the Internet: An Insight into the Meme, was handed in early this month as part of her English Language and Communication bachelors degree.

Gaio told Heat Streethow her professor encouraged her to focus on the topic, and that Pepe represented the first time a meme became a genuine political force.

The project discusses the evolution of Pepe, who began as a little-known character created byMatt Furie for his Boys Club web comic in 2005.

He then became enthusiastically adopted by the so-called alt-right political movement, where he gained associations with white nationalism and anti-Semitism.

During the primaries of the last election, Donald Trump tweeted an image of himself as Pepe, seemingly without quite knowing what it meant.

Donald Trump Jr later posted an image on Instagram showing him alongside his father, Milo Yiannapoulos, Alex Jones and Pepe as members of The Deplorables:

This in turn led the Clinton campaign to publish a bizarre Pepe explainer, which gave them the low-down on the character and said the Trump campaigns embrace of the character was horrifying.

In the months since, Pepe continued to proliferate online, but was dramatically killed off by Furie last week in a farewell comic showing him in an open casket.

Gaio toldHeat Street that a small field of meme scholarship does already exist, and that she was inspired to take up her project by an academic discussion of Lolcats.

However, her paper could mark the first time an individual character has been the sole subject of an entire thesis.

Hopefully it gets a good grade.

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British Student Writes College Thesis on Pepe The Frog - Heat Street

This King’s English student wrote her dissertation on Pepe the Frog – The Tab


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This King's English student wrote her dissertation on Pepe the Frog
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You knew the evergreen hue of his skin. You loved that twinkle in his tender smile. Pepe the Frog, an undisputed icon of the meme world, was laid to rest on May ...

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This King's English student wrote her dissertation on Pepe the Frog - The Tab

Apollo-Ridge students learn CSI techniques – Tribune-Review

Abigail Seibert carefully dusted charcoal over a white sheet of paper in her science lab Thursday.

As the minutes went by, faint lines started to appear.

With each stroke the image got clearer and clearer her fingerprints.

"I've never had a class like this," said Seibert, a senior at Apollo-Ridge High School. "It's a different kind of science we're not used to."

Seibert is studying forensics as part of her natural sciences course this spring. This is the first time the school has had a forensics component.

The students investigated a mock crime scene, identified fingerprints and clothing fibers and took mug shots. They also will take a look at gunshot residue, shoe prints and blood spatter before the end of the year.

Teacher Leigh Wenckowski, who has a degree in forensic science, received a grant from the Apollo-Ridge Education Foundation to create the forensics unit.

"It kind of opened up another option for those who maybe like criminology and didn't know there was science in that," Wenckowski said.

Wenckowski said she's had a positive response from students.

"I think that they just are more interested in it because it's more relevant to them because they see it (on TV)," she said. "They were able to recognize more terminology."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, competition for jobs may be strong because of the interest in forensic science and crime scene investigation in TV shows.

Department of Labor statistics show employment of forensic science technicians is projected to grow 27 percent from 2014 to 2024. That could equal nearly 4,000 jobs.

Senior Madeline Eckenrode, 18, said she is enlisted to go into the Navy after she graduates. She said having this class has given her good experience she can apply to her job with the Navy.

"I like that it's not something you'd normally learn in a classroom setting," Eckenrode said. "It's better than taking notes."

Junior Zach Starry, 18, learned it's not always easy to dust for prints, but said it's still fun.

"If I dust too hard I have to do it over and over again," he said.

If too much charcoal is added to the paper, it smudges the print and makes it too dark.

The class has inspired some students to consider pursuing jobs in the field.

Senior Serenity Murphy, 17, plans to attend Westmoreland County Community College to study forensic science.

"I liked doing crime scene collection," she said. "It's just exciting."

Murphy said she first became interested in criminology and forensics from shows such as "Dexter" and "Criminal Minds."

"It was something I always had a curiosity for," she said.

Junior Macy Bowser, 17, likes the class so much she spent her free period Thursday in the lab perfecting her fingerprint collection skills.

"I love the work we do," she said. "The only thing I really like is science."

Bowser plans to pursue a job in a forensics lab, where she can analyze evidence.

"It opened up more opportunities that I didn't know about," she said of the class. "It's actually building a career for me."

Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-226-4680, emilybalser@tribweb.com or on Twitter @emilybalser.

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Apollo-Ridge students learn CSI techniques - Tribune-Review

Ann Coulter Is Worried The ‘Trump-Haters Were Right’ | The …

Conservative author Ann Coulter was one of the most vocal supporters of Donald Trump during the presidential campaign.

She wrote In Trump We Trust and proclaimed thatshe worships him like the people of North Korea worship their Dear Leader blind loyalty.

Coulter described herself as a single-issue voter during the election and was drawn to Trump due to his Mexican rapist speech and him calling for a borderwall to be built.

In an interview Sunday with The Daily Caller, Coulter let it be known she still has hope in theTrump presidency, but is ready to jump ship.

So theres no wall, and Obamas amnesties look like they are here to stay. Do you still trust Trump?

Uhhhh. Im not very happy with what has happened so far. I guess we have to try to push him to keep his promises. But this isnt North Korea, and if he doesnt keep his promises Im out. This is why we voted for him. I think everyone who voted for him knew his personality was grotesque, it was the issues.

I hate to say it, but I agree with every line in my friend Frank Brunis op-ed in The New York Times today. Where is the great negotiation? Where is the bull in the china shop we wanted? That budget the Republicans pushed through was like a practical joke Did we win anything? And this is the great negotiator?

You said during the election and in columns that if there is no wall its the end of America.

Trump was our last shot. I kind of thought it was Romney, and then lo and behold like a miracle Trump comes along. I still believe in Trumpism. I have no regrets for ferociously supporting him. What choice did we have?

We had no choice. Yeah, I mean, my fingers are still crossed. Its not like Im out yet, but boy, things dont look good. Ive said to other people, its as if were in Chicago and Trump tells us hes going to get us to LA in six days. But for the first three days we are driving towards New York. Yes, it is true he can still turn around and get us to LA in three days, but Im a little nervous.

Whats behind him driving towards New York?

If he grabs the steering wheel and turns around and takes us toward LA, then Ill just put it down to him not being a professional politician and having to come into the presidency with no support network, with all of official Washington against him.

I have from the beginning been opposed to Trumphiring any of his relatives. Americans dont like that, I dont like that. Thats the one fascist thing hes done. Hiring his kids.

But I understand if youre in Washington you dont know who to trust, the party was against you, the politicians wereagainst you, the bureaucracy wasagainst you, and by the waythis isnt to say anything bad about Jared. Everything I know about him, I think hes doing a great job. But even if he is absolutely the best person for the job, I dont like the hiring of relatives.

I couldunderstand all that if he gets control ofthe steering wheel and turns around and starts going towards LA.

If we just keep going to New York. Well again, Ill say we had no choice, but the Trump-haters were rightIts a nightmare. I cant even contemplate that. Right now Im still rootingfor him to turn aroundand take us towardLA.

Are you going to be apologizing to these Never Trumpers?

I dont apologize for supporting Trump. He said all the right things and nobody else would even say it. I suppose its possible that another politician whoreally meantit would come along. Theres Kris Kobach, Tom Cotton, Jeff Sessionsthere are probably a handful of politicians.

I got to tell you when I wrote Adios America I thought there was a 10percent chance of saving the country. On the evening of November 8, I thought, Wowwe have a 90 percent chance now, this is a chance that comes a long once every thousand years, we can save America now.

And now, I dont know, Im someplace between 10 percent and 90 percent.

How much blame does congressional leadership deserve?

I do, of course, blame Congress most of all. They are swine. They only care about their own careers. Who knows how much of it is corruption and how much of it is pure stupidity? People should start sending Paul Ryan bricks to indicate how much we want the wall.

They are the opposition party to Donald Trump. This is really something weve never seen before. The president stands alone, its his own political party, hes Gary Cooper. All we have is millions of Americans behind him, but he doesnt have anybody in Washington behind him.

During the campaign you said you would have to start writing mystery books if Hillary Clinton won. Are you preparing to start writing these?

No. But I must say Ive been contemplating it a bitmore. You cant give up yet. We have to keep Trumps feet to the fire. Its weird because I really think in his heart hes a genuine patriot.

Its just that it has been such a disaster so far, and that General Kelly is so preposterous, and McMaster did you see him at that press conference? I thought he was retarded. You have to link to that video.

Ive never actually heard anyone other than liberals mocking their idea of a stupid Republican say, Murica.

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[Trump] might not have realized how intense the opposition was going tobe. Not on everything. Nobodyelse would have done the trade deals, that is to save American jobs. But they are not going to complain and massively resist on trade. They are not going to massively resist him on things like tax cuts. They are going to love for him to go to war, we have to try to resist him on that.

The one thing he will get massive resistance from every source in Washington including his own party is immigration.

What does your friend Matt Drudge think of all of this? Recently on Michael Savages radio show he seemed nervous about the Trump administration.

Ill let him speak for himself, but I think all of the Trump true believers are petrified.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.

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