Hi:

Your question was: "is there a way to count the contributions that a user has 
made *on behalf of* another particular user?" (my emphasis)

And: "It seems to me that the way to overcome this roadblock is to introduce a 
way of counting the contributions made by a person (say, a research student, or 
a colleague) *on behalf of* a Professor." (again, my emphasis)

Which rather sounds like a proxy, by any definition of that term.  

I would be strongly against encouraging such practices.

Take care

Jon

On Jul 10, 2014, at 11:12 AM, Jennifer Gristock <[email protected]> wrote:

> 
> I too believe that the ideal approach is for academics to write about other 
> people's work: that is why my original question was about ways of 
> tracing/counting this.
> 
> But if you're saying that a research student writing about other people 'a 
> work (plural, not singular ) is not advisable because they are somehow a 
> 'proxy', I must say I don't quite see it that way, but thank you for helping 
> me to see the multiple ways in which this could be construed.
> 
> 
> Sent from my mobile
> 
>> On 10 Jul 2014, at 18:21, Jon Beasley-Murray <[email protected]> 
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Jennifer:
>> 
>> I would be very wary indeed of the model you're proposing, in which either 
>> individual researchers or their proxies insert their work into Wikipedia.  
>> We see enough of that already, and I would be concerned if there were any 
>> official (or even semi-official) encouragement of the practice.
>> 
>> The issue is less conflict of interest (though that's true, too) as 
>> (self)promotion (which you seem to be actively encouraging) and undue weight.
>> 
>> This is not to say that professors (academics, researchers) should not be 
>> writing in their areas of expertise.  Of course they should!  But perhaps a 
>> rule of thumb is that they should be writing about *other* people's work in 
>> that area, rather than their own.
>> 
>> Take care
>> 
>> Jon
>> 
>>> On Jul 10, 2014, at 7:43 AM, Jennifer Gristock <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Greetings everyone. I'm still working on that system to encourage 
>>> university professors to contribute to Wikipedia, a system that is 
>>> concerned not through teaching, like the Education Programme, but through 
>>> research.
>>> 
>>> I need some help. Can you tell me, in the Wikipedia API, is there a way to 
>>> count the contributions that a user has made on behalf of another 
>>> particular user? For example, a professor might ask a group of PhD students 
>>> to make contributions involving his/her research on various Wikipedia 
>>> pages, on his/her behalf.
>>> 
>>> I have been frequently told (at the Teahouse and elsewhere) that Professors 
>>> are not allowed to contribute information about their own published 
>>> research papers on Wikipedia pages, because this would be biased. (Which is 
>>> rather a downer for the professor, because this means they are forbidden to 
>>> write about the things they are most passionate and knowledgeable about.) 
>>> 
>>> If this is rule is true, then it must certainly be seen as a roadblock to 
>>> academic engagement with Wikipedia. If it isn't, then it is editors' 
>>> perception of the rule as true (as I have experienced) that is the 
>>> roadblock.
>>> 
>>> It seems to me that the way to overcome this roadblock is to introduce a 
>>> way of counting the contributions made by a person (say, a research 
>>> student, or a colleague) on behalf of a Professor. So at the end of the 
>>> year, the Professor can say 'my research contributed to X edits on 
>>> Wikipedia' as easily as each individual student (who might contribute on 
>>> behalf of many academic researchers) can count their individual edits.
>>> 
>>> Can the API accommodate this in some way? Perhaps through some sort of 
>>> 'project' code or something?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Yours hopefully,
>>> 
>>> Jenny Gristock (Open_Research)
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>> 
>>>> On 9 Jul 2014, at 22:40, LiAnna Davis <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hi all!
>>>> 
>>>> I wanted to draw your attention to the Educator Training we'll be having 
>>>> as part of the Wikimania Pre-conference on August 7:
>>>> 
>>>> https://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education_Pre-Conference/Educator_training
>>>> 
>>>> The Educator Training is designed to give educators of all levels the 
>>>> knowledge they need to use Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects as a 
>>>> teaching tool in their classrooms. The training is open to educators from 
>>>> any country, and Wikipedia editing experience is not required. 
>>>> 
>>>> If you're interested in attending or you know someone who is, please see 
>>>> the page for more information. I especially encourage anyone who's thought 
>>>> about getting a Wikipedia Education Program going in your country to 
>>>> attend, as you'll learn a lot about the different kinds of assignments 
>>>> students could do.
>>>> 
>>>> LiAnna
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -- 
>>>> LiAnna Davis
>>>> Head of Communications and External Relations
>>>> Wiki Education Foundation
>>>> +1-415-770-1061
>>>> www.wikiedu.org
>>>> 
>>>> Please note my new email address and update your contacts accordingly: 
>>>> [email protected]
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
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>> 
>> 
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> 
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