Abstract

The Philosophy Department
seeks funding to upgrade
the existing lab in what is
now called the Philosophy
Commons. The Commons
Lab provides essential
computing resources to
undergraduates and graduate
students. We seek funding
for nine new PCs and four new
Macintoshes. In addition to
being very unreliable due to
frequent crashes and
shutdowns, the computers
are unable to efficiently run
the latest operating
systems.

Background

The Philosophy Department has over 250
undergraduate majors and 35 graduate
students. The number of undergraduate
majors has increased 35% in the last two
years. The recent addition of a new
undergraduate degree program in the history
and philosophy of science, along with the
coming addition of a new program in applied
ethics, ensures continued growth.

The majority of our students use the
computers to write class papers, professional
papers, prep for class, and to conduct
database searches. There are also online
translation engines used by those working
with Greek and Latin texts. The use of logic
software is required for some courses. Finally,
one of the workstations is used for the
Philosophy Writing Center, adjacent to the lab,
which provides support for anyone writing
class papers.

Benefits

The equipment we are requesting will provide
several benefits. First, our current set-up
requires users to hold books on their laps
while they type; flat panel monitors will allow
more space on the desktop. Flat panel
screens are also more energy efficient and
easier on the eyes. Second, increased use
will place greater demands on already
unreliable machines; more durable
workstations will hold up better under
heavy use. Third, our current PCs cannot run
the latest operating systems effectively while
the Macintoshes cannot run the latest operating
system at all; faster processors will allow us to
better accommodate advances in technology.
Fourth, CD-R and DVD drives will allow us to
create multi-media presentations for class
presentations, professional conferences and job
talks. The CD-R drives also will provide a more
reliable and larger removable storage space than
either floppies or Zip drives. Finally, if
feasible, we would like to use the displaced
computers in TA offices in order to help
alleviate congestion in the lab.

Student Access

Currently, the lab occupies one part of the
Philosophy Commons, a large open area that
also contains TA cubicles, meeting space,
and a reading area. The lab is open to
everyone; however, lab hours are limited to
when the Commons is open—10:30-3:30 Monday
through Friday. This is due to the fact that the
lab does not have a designated monitor
or "sheriff" and is instead monitored by the TAs
who have cubicles in the Commons.

We plan to restrict access to the new lab to
undergraduate majors and graduate students.
There are three motivating considerations.
First, the Commons will undergo a major
renovation in the summer of 2003. The
remodeled lab will be an enclosed area
separate from TA offices. There will be no way
for the new lab to be monitored by TAs. Thus,
for security reasons, we plan to restrict access
to the new lab. Secondly, the new plan also
gives students the opportunity to work in the
evening and on weekends. The new lab will
have a keyed entry, and majors and graduate
students will be provided with the access
code. In this way, lab hours will be set by
building hours for majors and unlimited for
graduates students. Lastly, the new lab will
accommodate one less computer than we
currently have. Given the growth of the
department, this means that there will be
more philosophy students who will use the
lab while we will have fewer computers. One
effect of restricted access is that it provides a
way to allocate scarce resources.

Available Resources

Currently, the lab consists of 8 Dell
Dimension XPS R350s, 6 Macintosh
PowerMac G3s, a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet
4000N printer, access to a file and print
server, two flat-bed scanners, and two external
floppy drives for the G3s. Most of the units
were purchased in 1998; two of the G3s were
purchased in 1999. These were funded by the
STFC.

The lab and Writing Center will be remodeled
as part of a $600,000 renovation to the entire
Commons area funded by the Program on
Values in Society, the new applied ethics
program. We will continue to use existing
furniture, as well as the scanners, printer, and
external floppy drives. We share a full-time
computer specialist, Michael Goldblatt, with
Sociology and Economics, and we have a
part-time student technician dedicated to
Philosophy.

Installation Timeline

We anticipate that the hardware for the lab can
be purchased and installed within three
months after the grant is awarded, regardless
of when the renovation is completed.

Departmental Endorsement

Ken Clatterbaugh, Chair, Philosophy
Department-clatter@u.washington.edu.

Jean Roberts, Director, Program on Values in
Society-jroberts@u.washington.edu.

Gina Gould, Undergraduate Advisor,
Philosophy
Department-gsgould@u.washington.edu.

Student Endorsement

The graduate students and undergraduate
majors were asked for input on the lab.
Students expressed concern for the reliability
of the current computers, with concerns
ranging from floppy-drive and keyboard
problems to system freezes and crashes.
Some students complained about having
to "computer hop" to find a working station. As
well, informal polling shows that the PCs get
more use than the Macintoshes; as such we
will be requesting one more PC and two fewer
Macintoshes than we currently have. Below
are some representative testimonials:

"I use the computer lab in the Commons daily
to correspond with students via e-mail, to
prepare lecture notes, to do web-based
research and to work on my dissertation. I
find the computers in the lab to be rather slow
by today’s standards and to crash/freeze up
much too often, presumably on account of low
processing power. Still, it is most convenient
to use the machines in this lab because of the
lab location (close to the department and to
the T.A. offices). Getting newer machines with
higher processing power in the Philosophy
Commons Lab would definitely enhance my
teaching and research capabilities."
Ty Landrum, Graduate Student

"As an undergraduate Philosophy major, I use
the computer lab in the Commons everyday.
Whether I am checking e-mail, doing research
for a class, or typing a paper, the lab is a
wonderful and proximate resource. In fact,
because of such close proximity, I am able to
be more efficient and productive in my work.
Moreover, after talking to many other
undergraduates, I am confident that this
feeling is common. Unfortunately, the few
computers there are in the lab are
ill-tempered and old. This becomes
problematic when one is trying to write a
paper within a given deadline and the
computer either freezes or will not let you type
an arbitrary letter (malfunctioning keyboard). I
suppose this could be easily, though not
efficiently, solved by just going to another
computer. However, the constant demand for
the lab facilities in conjunction with the
consistent stream of students makes this an
impossibility. Therefore, I am in full support
of a few more computers with higher processing
power. The life of a student can be hectic and
stressful enough, without the added
complication of not being able to press the
letter “e” on your keyboard."
Nicki Weston, Undergraduate Major

"I am teaching a logic class, which uses
computer software for teaching purposes.
Next quarter, I will be a student in a graduate
level logic class, which will also use computer
software for teaching the material. It is
important to have computers with this
software available, as we do in the Philosophy
Commons. I am able to use those computers
to help students who need help with what we
are doing in class, showing them how to do
the problems. I am also able to prepare for
class by working on problems that I plan to
demonstrate in class to the students (there
are computers in the classrooms where I
teach). I also use those computers in
the Philosophy Commons to communicate by
email with my students and the professor of
the class where I am a teaching assistant.
The professor has saved many solution files
and the course gradebook on the philosophy
department server, which we teaching
assistants access from the computers in the
philosophy commons. That is where we enter
grades in the gradebook, and also where we
can receive students' homework by wmail and
grade it. This type of course requires
computers. We need good computers to be
able to do the job of teaching the type of logic
class we are now teaching."
Gabriela Remow, Graduate Student

"I’m at the end of my grad student tenure and
work mainly at home. I use the lab computers
mainly for my more extensive searches (e.g.,
Lexis/Nexis or on-line journals) because my
connection from home is much slower. If I
use the computers to write papers, I go in at
night when it’s quieter. Usually there seems
to be at least one computer -- or keyboard! --
that is down. This isn’t a problem at night
when the lab’s empty, but I bet it’s a pain
during business hours. I’d suggest two
improvements. First, more work-space! If
you’re taking notes from a book you have to
hold it on your lap. Second, I use a lot of
cases in my classes, and I know others do
too. It would be great if we could get the
technology that would let us edit video clips
organize them so that they can be indexed and
more easily cued in class. In short, we
should make sure we have what we need to
make use of all the new technology being put
into our classrooms. Thanks for asking,"
Paul Glezen, Graduate Student

Items

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