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December 5, 2025 | Latest Issue
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Study: Anon. Wikipedia users prove most accurate

October 22, 2007

Anonymous users of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia may provide content of comparable quality to that provided by registered users, according to an April 2007 study conducted by Dartmouth students and faculty. The project, which grew out of an earlier study focused on trust in computing, was conceived by professor Denise Anthony, chair of the sociology department, computer science professor Sean Smith and Tim Williamson '05, a former computer science major. The Wikipedia study analyzed the relative number of contributions and the length of time for which they remained unchanged between registered users, or "Zealots," and anonymous users, or "Good Samaritans." The research aimed to determine whether content quality is better for Zealots, who are motivated by reputation in the Wikipedia community to produce accurate articles. A computer program written by Williamson randomly selected about 1,700 of each type of user from two foreign language versions of the encyclopedia, and then compared contribution statistics for each group.

Cathy Zoi Th'85, CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection, speaks on the climate crisis Friday afternoon at Spanos Auditorium.
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Zoi calls for greater focus on 'climate crisis'

By Susan Matthews | October 22, 2007

Erin Jaeger / The Dartmouth Staff Cathy Zoi Th'85, CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection, stressed the importance of climate change awareness at the Jones Seminar in Spanos Auditorum on Friday. Zoi, who has two decades of experience in renewable energy and was called a "warrior and hero" of climate change by Rolling Stone magazine in 2006, outlined the Alliance's plans to make environmental reform a focus for American voters. "The climate crisis needs deep public support," Zoi said. Zoi graduated from the Thayer School of Engineering in 1985 and has spent the last 12 years working on a fellowship to create sustainable energy practices in Australia.

Ugandan AIDS activist Beatrice Were took questions from the audience after her speech Thursday evening in Rockefeller Forum.
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AIDS activist urges action in Africa

By Kate Farley | October 19, 2007

Emily Unger / The Dartmouth Staff Beatrice Were, a Ugandan AIDS activist, gave a speech about her experiences living as an HIV-positive woman in Africa and then engaged in a question-and-answer session Thursday evening in Rockefeller Forum. Were was diagnosed with HIV in 1991 after her husband died from AIDS.

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"Historical detective" prof. dates calendars

By Turia Lahlou | October 18, 2007

History professor Richard Kremer has a bit of a strange hobby. In his free time, he tries to identify the anonymous astronomers of the past using medieval book-bindings to peer into the mathematics of preceding centuries. Kremer's research focuses on a 700-year period in astronomy between the work of the ancient Greeks and Copernicus.

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Macs gain ground on campus

By Ben Nunnery | October 18, 2007

"Sexymac" is the name Kathleen Onufer '08 gave the Macbook computer she purchased last spring. Onufer was a first-time Mac buyer who previously owned a Dell purchased from Dartmouth her freshman year.

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Student Assembly funds three campus projects

By Maria Fillas | October 17, 2007

Tuesday night's Student Assembly meeting focused on the passage of three funding proposals: the Thanksgiving and winter break New York City bus service, the laptop voucher program and the Pangea program. According to Neil Kandler '09, co-vice president of the Assembly's Student Services Committee, the aim of the New York City bus service has been to provide a more affordable means of public transportation for the hundreds of Dartmouth students heading to the city during the Thanksgiving and winter holiday seasons.

Stonyfield Farms President and CE-Yo Gary Hirshberg discusses corporate environmental responsibility Tuesday afternoon at the Rockefeller Center.
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CE-Yo extols virtues of green biz

By Emily Goodell | October 17, 2007

Erin Jaeger / The Dartmouth Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farms president and CE-Yo (as in yogurt), spoke about the importance of running environmentally responsible businesses on Tuesday afternoon in the Rockefeller Center. "The question we asked ourselves when we were starting the company was, 'is it possible to have enterprise that was part of the solution, and not part of the problem?'" Hirshberg said in his lecture.

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Daily Debriefing

By Julie Kim | October 17, 2007

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics hosted over 130 representatives from colleges all over the country to discuss the balance between intercollegiate sports and academics, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported Tuesday.

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DDS pushes to hire more students

By Andrew Wells | October 17, 2007

With 13 locations on campus and only 111 student workers employed this fall, Dartmouth Dining Services is struggling to hire students in its efforts to keep operations running smoothly.

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