Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 December 22

= December 22 =

about 2g scam
give me an article about the 2g scam in India.

Pras9874 (talk) 11:07, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Welcome to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, including you. Perhaps you'd like to start an article about the 2g scam?  Here's some help to get you going.  --- OtherDave (talk) 14:28, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * We do have an article on the 2G spectrum scam. ---Sluzzelin talk  15:01, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I created a redirect from 2G scam to 2G spectrum scam. Anthony (talk) 05:41, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Assessing exam essays by computer
I understand that this has started to happen in the UK. How on earth is this done? Reading the handwriting must be difficult enough. The other aspect is how the computer grades it. At least its objective, which is very welcome. 92.29.126.195 (talk) 12:08, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I one time got paid 8 cents per quiz to read snapshots of quizzes about 10 questions long on Amazon Mechanical Turk. I looked at the quizzes and had to type in what they entered in the 'Name' section, the numbers the students entered for a few numerical questions and which letter they circled for some multiple choice questions. According to the instructions when I did it, at least two people would do the exact same test and the information would only be considered valid if two humans agreed. Kind of scary if you ask me, but it was easy and quick work for candy bar money for a human. :) 20.137.18.50 (talk) 14:15, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * This may seem a bit of an odd question, but are you sure that essays being evaluated electronically are actually submitted in handwritten form? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:18, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * This page has links to some systems with more detailed descriptions. Software generally scans for expected word patterns and compares with a large number of other essays (if you have to write an essay on the causes of World War I, you'll probably be expected to mention "assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand", "complex network of alliances", "German imperialism", "dreadnought arms race", and similar topics, and they can probably detect if you say "It had nothing to do with the assassination of FF").
 * Some systems are used for assessing competence of English which seems more straightforward than rating arguments, although other systems are reportedly capable of this, while others are used only as guides to students or markers. It's still controversial as to whether these systems are really good enough (and previous links).
 * As for handwriting, the software generally works on documents in computer-readable form (many institutions these days require essays to be submitted electronically, not on paper). --Colapeninsula (talk) 16:43, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I'd expect such a system to be truly pathetic at grading. Specifically, students who are good are remembering the proper keywords, but have no clue how to link them together into a readable essay, will probably get 100%, while those who have the essay down pat but forget the specific names will fail miserably.  It might be fun to see what kind of essay you could write and still get 100%: "The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a ruby-throated hummingbird, led to a complex network of alliances, in other words, electric bananas, and German imperialism resulted in many pointy helmeted Helmuts, causing the dreadnought arms race to be won by the celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County."  StuRat (talk) 02:31, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm intrigued that no-one has asked "Why?" It's effectively the same reason as for most other computerisations. It's cheaper. Cheaper even than the poor amount of money authorities currently pay humans to mark papers. Why don't we properly value education? (There's my "Why?" question.) HiLo48 (talk) 02:40, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * The cost reason is fairly obvious, but, if it actually worked, it could also be objective, rather than have a prof give his favorite students automatic A's and fail anyone with an opinion that differs from his own.


 * Now, as to not paying educators enough, I agree that they should be paid more, but the problem is that the money just isn't there. According to our article Education_in_the_United_States, there are over 6.2 million educators, just in primary and secondary schools (excluding colleges and universities), in the US.  If they each get $100,000 in total pay, benefits, and supplies, we are up to $620 billion a year, and then the administrative and building cost must be added, as well as college and university staff, administration, and buildings.


 * That's getting to be rather expensive. The only two options to keep costs down are to pay each one less or have more students per educator, and this is where automatic grading comes in.  I'm all for automatic grading of true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions, but have a hard time imagining automatic grading of essays being any good any time soon.  We would need some rather advanced artificial intelligence that could look at an essay and think "wow, that's a completely new insight that I never thought of before".  StuRat (talk) 07:22, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * The average benefit package for a primary and secondary teacher in the US is $100k (is that before or after tax?)? I never realised they were so generous there Nil Einne (talk) 07:31, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * That's certainly more than double the cost in the UK, including all employer's on-costs (pension, NI etc). I think StuRat was just quoting an aspirational figure.    D b f i r s   09:10, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Correct. That's what I think would be the proper amount to pay good teachers, if we had the money. StuRat (talk) 18:21, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I don't believe true computer marking, as outlined above, has started in the UK. (If it has, I would find it as remarkable in fact as the way in which it was done.) The OP may or may not be find laying out the facts helpful:
 * Some papers now are scanned and communicated to markers via a computer - who reads it on their screen and marks it via an electronic interface. But that's as far as the computer goes in this instance, operating like a data handling system. Not sure how true essay exams work.
 * Some multiple choice papers, I believe, are marked by computer. Small boxes are shaded in by examinees, and all are read and marked electronically - I can imagine that ambiguous answers might be referred to a human.
 * I wonder whether either of the above are relevant here. - Jarry1250 [Who? Discuss.] 13:40, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Strange email address for a company
I have a little money in an IRA with TD Ameritrade and regularly get emails from them letting me know that information on the fund I am in is available online. Just this morning I looked in the To: and From: part of the email in detail for the first time and I noticed that the From: part says tdameritrade 'at' email 'dot' tdameritrade 'dot' com, but then it says 'please respond to "tdameritrade" <1503b3b9alayfovciabnudlyaaaaaaaelwxrqlv2epyyaaaaa 'at' email 'dot' tdameritrade 'dot' com>" '

I myself substituted 'at' and 'dot' for the @ and. symbols when typing this question. But why would TD Ameritrade have such a long and garbled email? Does that help them dodge spammers that much? Or I wonder if that specific email address is for the fund I'm in, since they have many and having specific and obscure email addresses pre sorts emails without broadcasting customers' private information (like "Joe Blow's probably invested in XYZ" if XYZ 'at' email 'dot' tdameritrade 'dot' com goes over the Internet ) 20.137.18.50 (talk) 14:01, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * It's more likely that the long username (1503b3b9alayfovciabnudlyaaaaaaaelwxrqlv2epyyaaaaa) doesn't identify a particular fund product, but rather a specific email recipient: you. Indeed, with that many characters it's very likely that a new username is generated for every mailing that you receive.  (A 49-character lowercase alphanumeric string allows them to create something like 1060 unique IDs.)  A reply to that address will immediately uniquely identify you to Ameritrade and tell them which email message you've replied to.  TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:55, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Agreed. And I would guess that the reason is to protect themselves from a hacker attack, where so many computers (taken over by viruses) send them emails that they can't sort the good from the bad and have to cease reading emails.  Under their system, they probably stop accepting emails at any address that gets over some large number, say 100, in a given day.  So, those people with hacked computers may lose the ability to communicate with Ameritrade, but everyone else would still be able to.  BTW, why didn't you post this on the Computer Ref Desk ? StuRat (talk) 02:24, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Rum extract
I found this recipe online for "chocolate eggnog truffles": http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1664/chocolate-eggnog-truffles

I don't want to use rum extract, as I don't have any in the house. But I do have rum! Can I substitute rum for the rum extract, and if so, how much should I use and what kind of rum should I use? Foodieswan (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:44, 22 December 2010 (UTC).


 * This looks problematic - "Cooks can also convert the other way, using real rum instead of rum extract. However, this can get complicated, especially in cakes, where the amount of liquid plays a critical role in how the cake bakes. Too much liquid can interfere with the finished texture of the cake, creating an unpleasant mess rather than the desired product. The higher alcohol content of true rum can also interfere with the cooking process." - see http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-rum-extract.htm Exxolon (talk) 19:25, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I found a few sources indicating that you could substitute 3 parts rum for 1 part rum extract, but in truffles, in which texture is so important, I don't know what the increased liquid would do to the final product. You could give it a try, and if it works... then you'll know. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 19:32, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * My suggestion would be to consider how much rum extract your recipe calls for, then take 3 times as much rum, put it in a saucepan, and boil it on your stove until it cooks down to the amount of liquid your recipe calls for. In effect, you would be making your own rum extract.  Marco polo (talk) 20:29, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Marco polos solution would also be my suggestion. Essentially making a rum syrup that would probably even have an enhanced flavour in comparison with rum or rum extract. --Saddhiyama (talk) 12:38, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * That recipe doesn't say "extract", which I take it would contain alcohol, but rather "flavoring", meaning no alcohol. However, if you put in the same volume of rum as they suggested as flavoring (½ teaspoon), the fluid balance should be the same.  There is some risk that the alcohol might affect things, and you may have less rum flavor this way, but it would be the safest way to substitute real rum. StuRat (talk) 02:16, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Calling Card Pool
Hello. Can two phone numbers be simultaneously registered to the same calling card? Thanks in advance. --Mayfare (talk) 18:21, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Telephone card may help. But I suspect that the answer will depend on which country you are in, and possibly on which telco issued the card. --ColinFine (talk) 19:43, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * To OP, are you asking whether this happens by mistake or whether it can be done deliberately? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:30, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Hello Cuddlyable3. Deliberately. I want to pool my phone card minutes with my distant relatives. --Mayfare (talk) 13:33, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
 * In that case, one of your option would be a dual sim phone. Royor (talk) 16:40, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

My Hermit Crabs
My hermit crabs Mr.Crabs and Sandy have lived in a cage at my house for about 6months and today I noticed little white bugs in their cage, what do I do?

My hermies live in wood chips and have plenty of food and water.They have a climbing stick and a little plastic palm tree.PLEASE HELP ME!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hallorie (talk • contribs) 19:08, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I am not a veterinarian. But this article from the Hermit Crab Association about mites, and how to get rid of them, might be useful to you. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 19:17, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * It's interesting to watch the courting rituals of those little critters, aka the "mite mates rite". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:01, 26 December 2010 (UTC)