Wikipedia Contribution

I have been using Wikipedia as long as I can remember to provide information on a variety of topics from pharmacology to fashion. Almost any Google search will have a wikipedia article in the top few results, if not the top result. Wikipedia has entirely replaced the need for traditional encyclopedias in my mind. If the manual of style is followed and each contributor strives for good article status, the quality of Wikipedia articles exceed that of traditional encyclopedias by providing more current and constantly updated information. The fact that wikipedia is free and accessible to anyone with internet access makes the information that can be found and shared virtually infinite.

Fig. 1. Wikipedia- Veteran (2008) mikedesign, [digital image]. Retrieved March 22, 2012 from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeeperez/2453226990/.

As much as I have used Wikipedia on a weekly, if not daily basis, contributing has never crossed my mind. At first I was intimidated by the assignment to update a stub with the goal of good article status, but the task was less complicated and more enjoyable than I had initially expected. The list of stubs is really endless, and I wanted to contribute to something was sure I could provide and cite facts, so I began my search in the science stubs. After some in depth browsing I found a stub for 1-phosphofructokinase, the enzyme that catalyzes the rate determining step in glycolysis and playing an essential role in the regulation of blood glucose levels. I was familiar with this enzyme due to the extensive biochemistry required for the nutrition major and in knowing the importance of this enzyme I was shocked that it was only a stub.

After signing up and opening the edit page for the stub, I was intimidated by the wiki-code as it was completely foreign to me. After going over what was already present in the stub and making a few minor changes to ensure the entire article would provide factual information, I quickly got used to creating text links and took time to ensure all those I had provided led to the correct information. I mostly cited my biochemistry textbook as it provides plenty of the information I felt was necessary to strive towards a good article, but I also found a journal article in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that I felt provided some information as to the clinical importance of 1-phosphofructokinase.

Overall, I enjoyed contributing to the world's biggest encyclopedia, though it was not without a few speed bumps. Half way through the creation of my article I found an existing article of the same enzyme, using different nomenclature. I continued to finish my stub, although I feel the stub list could be updated in order to have various chemical nomenclature link to one article, preventing the creation of multiple articles on the same topic.

This experience has shown me how simple and rewarding it can be to contribute to Wikipedia and that it really isn't as intimidating or complex as I had thought. In the future I plan to edit and contribute to nutritional topics, as it is a field full of of incorrect and misleading information. Since Wikipedia is so often used for information, I feel it is of critical importance that what can be found there is current and correct. I likely won't pursue edits in the biochemistry field though updating the 1-phosphofructokinase stub, found here, did aid in my understanding of the enzyme's importance. I will be more likely to research and update stub's of greater interest to me, such as the human-canine bond stub updated by my classmate Michelle Leung, whose blog can be found here.

Facebook page

This week in the lab for Ales 204 we were given the opportunity to create professional Facebook pages. I have been using Facebook for about 4 years to keep in touch with friends near and far though had never thought of creating a page. The layout and set up of the page was simple and strait-forward. I would recommend it to anyone looking to advertise their business and keep in touch with clients while gaining new ones.

One Facebook page I frequent is the Dalai Lama's page, full of insightful advice, check it out:

http://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama

We were instructed to fill the page with information that would be found on a resume: skills, education, work and volunteer experience. However we were also able to include personal interests which is often not included in a resume, and it makes the information much more personal than just chronology of employment. The addition of a photo makes the page enjoyable to look at while putting a face to the information given.

This page will help me in the future by allowing me to advertise skills and experience relevant to a work or volunteer positions I seek. It will also allow all my Facebook friends to stay current on my career goals and achievements. I plan to use the page to share with friends, and whoever may be interested, information I choose to share regarding nutrition. This page helps to connect my personal life with my business life, while allowing me to be in control of how much of each I choose to share.

My page can be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kandice-Mueller/336534619712695?sk=info

I recommend you also take a look one of my classmates blogs: Clara T is also in nutrition and I look forward to reading the information she will be posting!

http://ales204ct.blogspot.com/

Introduction

Hi there, thanks for visiting my site.
I'm Kandice Mueller, a second year nutrition student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. I have created this blog as an assignment for a communications class as required by my program.
The class aims to encourage students to increase their awareness and use of social media to communicate in their field of science.
Communication is a huge part of nutrition, as nutrition knowledge is extremely valuable not only for those in a clinical practice but for everyone interested in a healthy lifestyle for themselves and loved ones. Currently, communication is important for my education, allowing me to access information online and though the library journal database. The Internet is also valuable to help me stay current on popular topics being researched or discussed by the scientific community and the public. Social media also gives me the opportunity to share my knowledge and opinions about topics in nutrition with others, this blog being my first step in that direction. In the future, I will continue to use this blog and social media as a means of communication with a vast group of others with the shared interest of well being.
This blog, as the title states, is about beans. This fall I began a volunteer position with a dietitian at the St. Josephs auxiliary hospital who gave me the opportunity to organize nutrition month for the facility. After considering many ideas I decided the topic of nutrition month would be beans; I hope that by providing people with the the knowledge of the nutritional value of beans and the versatility and ease of preparation will lead to an increase in their consumption. Many people, especially the older generation, view beans as the poor mans meat and that if one can afford meat, beans are unnecessary. The modern shift towards plant based diets has shed some light on beans as a nutritional powerhouse, but the benefits of bean consumption remain mostly unknown.
My goal is to change the common perception of beans, and encourage increased consumption by sharing nutritional information, recipes, and my personal experiences with the magical fruit.