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There has been a lot of discussion at OOTJ and elsewhere about multitasking. Like many parents, I questioned my teenagers’ ability to do homework while checking email, instant messaging, and watching television. I simply didn’t understand how all tasks could be performed equally well. It turns out that there is a scientific basis for my concern. According to an article published recently in Science, the brain is configured to handle up to two tasks at a time, but no more. Click here for an abstract of the article; full text is available for a fee. The Science article was the subject of a piece that appeared on LiveScience.com, a website that reports on scientific and technological advances for laypeople. The research showed that when confronted with two tasks, the medial prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that is colored green in the illustration) divides–half of the region focuses on one task, and half focuses on the other task. If a third task is added to the mix, the brain seems to “forget” one of the three tasks and returns to a binary sitation it is equipped to handle. The brain is simply not designed to perform accurately more than two tasks at once. Read the rest of this entry »

Peggy Garvin reviews new, free, non-government resources that have recently come online to complement the official U.S. government regulatory information sites, RegInfo.gov and Regulations.gov. For this bounty, Peggy says researcher can thank innovative developers and the relatively new availability of a free XML version of the Federal Register that can be downloaded in bulk.

On this edition of The Paralegal Voice, co-hosts Lynne DeVenny and Vicki Voisin welcome Patricia E. Infanti, PP, PLS, President of NALS, the Association for Legal Professionals, and Kathleen R. Amirante, PP, PLS, the associations President Elect, who discuss the opportunities provided by membership in a professional association. They look at the history and mission of NALS, what NALS is doing to attract a diverse membership and how they are informing attorneys and the general public about the qualifications for using the title paralegal.

Researchers have linked pro football careers and concussions with climbing rates of depression, dementia and even Alzheimers disease. Attorneys and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi welcome Christopher Nowinski, President and CEO of the Sports Legacy Institute and Attorney Alan S. Pierce from the Law offices of Alan S. Pierce & Associates and host of Workers Comp Matters, to discuss the latest in workers comp claims against the NFL. They focus on the long-term effects of concussions from football, the NFLs role in helping these players, the workers comp issues involved and creating public awareness about this serious issue in the NFL and in other sports.

Lorette S.J. Weldon examines how SharePoint is used within the library to facilitate the coordination of collaboration, capturing and organizing “corporate” knowledge, and organizing digital content. She also reviews the results from her survey, “SharePoint Usage in the Library” which demonstrated how librarians could program their department’s SharePoint site without code.

Dr. Christine Riefa, a Fulbright EU Scholar-in-Residence at Cleveland Marshall College of Law, discusses her research into consumer protection in Second Life. Dr. Riefa presented a lecture on her research to the Suffolk Law community April 12, 2010.

Elaine Billingslea Dockens and Karen Krupka, each of whom has over 20 years of law librarian experience, discuss the field of law librarianship, and key issues and factors that new law librarians are likely to encounter as they enter this unique, and still vital profession.

Tim O’Reilly was one of the original definers of “Web 2.0.” He’s now turned his focus to the “Internet Operating System,” the next step down the path from “cloud computing.” In this episode, co-hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell take their own look at the Internet Operating System, its implications and the mindshift it will require for lawyers and others. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Yesterday’s Boston Globe, in an article in the Ideas section titled “Please do not change your password,” by Mark Pothier, reports on a guy who is perhaps going to change the way computer security wonks do their analysis. I certainly hope so! The subtitle of the article is: “You were right: Its a waste of your time. A study says much computer security advice is not worth following.” And that certainly sums up my own (and I think many users’) feelings about all the hysterical messages we get from the IT security folks at work. Every message is equally high priority and every threat is rated equally disastrous. That’s a little ridiculous, isn’t it? Here are some snippets from the article, which is certainly worth reading in whole: Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, President Obama appointed two union lawyers, Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) creating a labor law controversy. Some say that the addition of Becker and Pearce will restore balance, while others, like business groups, fear their influence on the board will cater to unions on big issues. Co-host and Attorney Bob Ambrogi welcomes Nancy Schiffer, Associate General Counsel with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, (AFL-CIO) and Attorney Charles I. Cohen, senior counsel in Morgan Lewis & Bockius Labor and Employment Practice, to get their reaction to the recess appointments of Becker and Pearce to the NLRB.