Celebrity Overkill

Do we have an unreasonable fixation with film stars and sports icons? Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have already created a mini-storm in India, or at least in newspaper reams. Now there is another newsitem, that of Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra taking the Indian Railways for a ride, literally, doing a shoot campaign for Pepsi. On a Shatabdi from Delhi to Jaipur, the soft drink company apparently plastered the coaches with brand posters (such kind of publicity requires prior permission, a bank guarantee and a bond). A hundred-strong police force was pressed into action for the stars’ safety and the railway staff also stood up for action.



The question is why was so much of government money spent on the personal protection of two film entities who were out on a personal business trip? In retrospect, should the stars and the company not be made to account for the losses?

7 Things You Should Know About Facebook

Information literacy—the ability to negotiate the opportunities and risks of the Internet age—is increasingly important. Facebook, a leading social networking site, highlights the information literacy challenges college students face. The site allows individuals to create profiles that include almost anything they want to post and dynamically links their information to others with similar information. While Facebook allows for easy, spontaneous networking, students may not recognize the potential consequences of submitting personal information to a public forum.
The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

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