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I was familiar with this simple truth when I worked as a data analyst a few years ago. I would go into the far reaches of Excel creating spreadsheets with thousands of lines of data. Maybe I would even create auto-refresh reports that pulled data from Access databases into Excel to suit my needs. It was awesome.
Though a data analyst no-longer, I still use Excel and data compilation for both of my jobs. As someone who appreciates the urgency of an impending deadline (a delicate way of saying a procrastinator by choice), I often find myself staring at an Excel database for hours on end. This causes what I like to think of as the “Excel Effect.” A little known medical phenomena where the cells of an Excel document have been burned onto the retina causing you to see the cells in the world around you. *Note: This is similar to the medical condition that occurs when playing too much WoW. Sitting in a meeting, frustrated with the outcome, and reaching for the hot-key to blast your colleague with your moonfire/wrath/firebolts/etc.
Anyway, I usually get to keep to my Excel-ness for work these days as no one really needs to see printed out reports. I mind a database. I don’t have to run queries off of it or furnish the higher-ups with reports, I am in charge of the data. That’s it. Last week, however, I needed to give some of the raw data I was compiling to a professor for whom I am working. I had a great idea (I thought): I’ll send him my database. Everything he could possibly want to know is in there. Each row contains all of the data to every question for each institution. I thought it was fabulous. He did not. The next day I got an email that he could not “print out the information I sent.” And, that is a very true statement.
I didn’t think he would want to print it. In fact, I think I mentioned in the email that it was best to use the spreadsheet as a quick reference. But, that was not what he wanted. He did not appreciate the simple beauty that was my master database. So, I spent 3 1/2 hours that evening printing out all of the individual responses for our data set. It was time consuming and boring, but it was what he needed.
At our meeting the next day, he flipped through all of the printed responses and was able to pull out all kinds of interesting things. He liked to see the data in front of him. To hold it. We had a very productive meeting when he was able to have the data in a form he understood. The Excel spreadsheet was not what he needed to be productive and make decisions. It might be all pretty and together to me, but to some folks it is just a bunch of lines and squares.
I had forgotten that.
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Last year my law school used SecureExam for our finals. This year my new law school (as they were on SecureExam last year too) switched to Exam4 software. The following are my top ten reasons why law schools should choose Exam4 over SecureExam.
10. It was rediculously simple to load and use. Unlike SecureExam, where an entire sheet was required (front and back in 10 pt. font) on where to download and how to use, Exam4 installation and use was a breeze.
9. Microsoft Word is NOT required to use Exam4. SecureExam required Word even though it used NONE of the Word functionality (spell check, formatting, etc.). Exam4 used its own word processing program that DID allow formatting options.
8. The user interface was super attractive. …which is important for me since I am stressed.
7. Need a few reminders throughout the exam to let you know how your doing on time? Well Exam4 lets you set your own reminders if you want them. Groovy. Where was that feature SecureExam, huh?
6. Exam4 has options for both open and closed exams. If the exam is open it lets you have access to all of your files so you can use them. If you are taking a closed exam, Exam4 locks out all of your other programs turning your very nice computer into a glorified typewriter (with formatting options) for a couple of hours.
5. If you were a law school, which I know none of you are, and you used SecureExam you had to buy separate licenses for Mac’s and PC’s. That’s right. SecureExam hates on Apple (and we all know how I feel about that). Or, maybe your law school did what mine did last year and said, “Gee sorry Mac people. We think your commercials are funny too, but we won’t spend the money so that 20% of our law students can type their exams. Why don’t you just find another computer or hand write your 4 hour Civil Procedure exam? I mean we told you not to buy Mac’s, because computers are not a big purchase at all and we wouldn’t want you to buy a computer that you actually wanted. Sheez, its like you want the world or something.” Exam4 does not discriminate. Apple? Windows? XP? Vista? Sure, come on in. We’ve got just what you need.
4. Exam4 saves extra copies of your exam on your hard drive just in case something goes wrong. If the exam doesn’t submit you can just fire up the program again and choose any exam you have taken from a list and re-submit it. This is so nice. I think I saw the IT department at my law school last year perform open heart surgery on some computers in an attempt to not “lose” exams.
3. SecureExam must be in bed with Microsoft or something. I mean the REQUIREMENT of Word and the “extra charge” for Mac licenses. Boo.
2. Did I mention it’s pretty and way easy to use?
1. Finished your exam? Know how SecureExam made you save your exam on the required flash drive? Then you had to go out into the hallway and stand in a line of 50+ other law students to print out your exam. This all added to the stress because you know that all those other FREAKS were still talking about the exam, causing you to question EVERYTHING YOU WROTE. Yeah, well in Exam4 you just hit a happy little button that submits your exam electronically over the intranetz. The program shuts down and seems to say, “Hey! Sorry we had to torture you with the exam. Hopefully you enjoyed the formatting options…and we just went ahead and emailed the exam to your professor, so why don’t you just go grab a beer or something.” kthxbai Exam4. I heart you.
NOTICE: Dire Mirth will be dark until Dec. 19th, 2007.
Reason given: Law school finals.
The next many days will be spent in the depths of the law library packing my brain with as much material as possible. Unless the world stops spinning, I am contacted by an Australian (for the purposes of my Int’l Law final research paper), or Bruce Campbell stops by for coffee (because I’d like to think I always have time availble for coffee with Bruce) then I have no reason not to be studying in the library all day long.
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I also thought it would be fun to find a movie image that aptly conveyed how I felt about the whole finals issue. Who better to help than Sigourney Weaver? Think of me as Ellen Ripley in Aliens: scared yet resolved to kick butt. She, like myself, was terrified of her foes (granted big green aliens may be more scary than law exams but not by much), yet ready to lay them to waste.
Today my International Criminal Law class had a guest lecturer. The speaker, who will be teaching four more of my classes, was Major Michael Mori (US Marines). Major Mori looks suprisingly young for his 42 years and was a very engaging speaker.
Humanitarian Law was the topic. In case you are not familiar with the term, Humanitarian Law is basically the politically correct umbrella for all things falling under the Rules of War. As you can imagine the topic is very interesting and the source of much debate. Major Mori was the perfect person to lecture on the subject as he has worked at Guantanamo Bay and is most noted for being David Hicks’ defense attorney.
David Hicks was a big blemish on the Americans Guantanamo track record. It was a bit unclear as to why Hicks was being held…was he a POW? Was he a civilian? If he was just a civilian why was he not extradited to his home country, Australia? As an American defending Hicks, Major Mori caught a lot of heat. In my opinion, for DOING HIS JOB. Which was, of course, to defend his client. He is an attorney after all, JAG or not.
Ah, well. David is safely back in the land down under finishing the final year of his eight year sentence in an Australian prison, and Major Mori will be joining us for a few more classes. I look forward to hearing more of what he has to say. For a military man he has an incredibly refreshing, critical, and real view of Americas actions in the Iraq conflict and handling of POW’s at Guantanamo.
Did I mention he got his J.D. from WNEC!!! How crazy is that?!?! We had a moment over Art Leavens.
Always having believed myself to be a realist more than an idealist I had my hesitations about post-structural feminism. I thought, “why not work within the system we have to defeat it from the inside?” Feminist ninja’s out defeating gender discrimination wherever it may be found. How cunning to crumble a system from within the fortifications and foundations it was built upon? Following in this vein I was allied with feminist jurist, Katherine MacKinnon. “Toward a Feminist Theory of the State” seemed like a good idea. Take a societies laws, examine them closely, and overrule them wherever discrimination is found. It all seemed great…and then I took a walk outside the fish bowl.
Today in my course on Islamic Jurisprudence we began a short, yet profound, discussion as to why the Muslim feminist movement has not been successful. The first question was where did these women go to get their legal support for expanding the role of women. They went exactly where I would have gone: to the Qua’ran and the Sunna and engaged in the process of itjihad (deducting law from the sources). This makes perfect sense. If you wanted to change the practices and perceptions of women in your religion wouldn’t God’s voice carry the most weight? Apparently not.
In Sunni Islam (which is were my scope is currently limited) there are four primary schools of law. If you are not familiar with Islam then it may be best to think of these schools as divisions in the protestant Christian faith (Methodist, Baptist, Church of Christ, etc.). They all believe in the same thing, there is only one God, Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet, but they quibble on the small things like the appropriate way to pray. These four schools are the authorities in Islamic Law. For example, if I were praying in a Shafi’i Mosque with my arms down by my sides when everyone else is praying with their arms across their chests and someone came and asked me why I was praying differently I would have two answers. First, I could do what would seem to be the best course of action…you know, quote the Qua’ran or Sunna supporting my prayer practice. My interrogator would counter by offering more Qua’ran and Sunna supporting his side, and on and on we would bicker never reaching a conclusion. Secondly, I could simply say I am a Manaki and this is how we pray. The interrogator then throws up his hands says sorry and walks away. Why this distinction? Because the Manaki School has authority, my own interpretations of the Qua’ran do not.
Apply this to Muslim feminism and you have women thinkers interpreting the Qua’ran and Sunna for an theory (or fatwa) that has no authority. In order to have legal authority (you know, the kind that brings about change) interpretation must come from one of the four schools of law. Basically, you have to work within the system that is oppressing you, and has been for centuries, to try and find ways of bringing down the system from the inside. How incredibly ridiculous does that sound? I know, I thought so too. I can not believe I ever thought this would work for women’s rights in America!
Here is where I have to bid my farewell to Kitty MacKinnon and run over to Judith Butler’s camp pleading that I could not see the forest for the trees and asking to be accepted into the fold. Judy’s right. You can not achieve gender equality working within a system that oppresses one gender. Sure, tearing down a few walls inside the fortress will upset some and gain some ground, but nothing really gets any better until you decide the fortress was flawed to begin with, tear it down, and build another (hopefully learning from your mistakes).
Sorry it took so long, Judy. I know a few professor’s back at my alma matter who will be glad to know I finally saw the fishbowl!
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