Clipmarks | RayWatkins's clips

A Call for Copyright Rebellion November 6, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:45:44 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: November 6, 2009

That is what Lawrence Lessig, the Harvard University law professor and renowned open-access advocate, told a theater of higher ed technologists Thursday at the 2009 Educause Conference here. In his talk, Lessig described how digital and Web technology has exploded the conditions under which copyright law had been written.

“If copyright law, at its core, regulates something called ‘copies,’ then in the analog world… many uses of culture were copyright-free,” he explained. “They didn’t trigger copyright law, because no copy was made. But in the digital world, very few uses are copyright-free because in the digital world … all uses produce a copy.”

The paradigm for copyright law enforcement emerged out of this "analog world" as a way of ensuring authors were remunerated for their contributions to culture, thereby creating an incentive to make further contributions and drive the progress on human art and discovery forward, he said.

Survival -- Through Open Access

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:08:26 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: November 4, 2009

Clip Source: www.insidehighered.com

For the last nine months, the survival of the Utah State University Press has been in doubt, with fears that deep cuts being made to public higher education in Utah would end up killing off the publishing outlet.

This week comes news that the press will survive -- in part by embracing a new model of organization (becoming part of the university library) and a new business model (embracing open access, in which most publications would be available online and free). While both of those changes are significant, key aspects of the press's identity and mission will not change. It will continue to be a peer-reviewed scholarly publisher, and plans to continue its highly regarded work in fields such as composition studies, folklore, poetry, environmental studies, and the history and culture of the West.

"This is going to be a way for us to extend our reach and build momentum," said Michael Spooner, director of the press.

High-paid officials: It's not just college presidents

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:38:46 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

Presidents of a number of colleges vowed in November to take a pay cut or otherwise give back part of their earnings as a way to help buffer their schools against the struggling economy.

Now, an analysis of tax filings of more than 4,000 other employees at 600 private colleges shows that presidents' earnings are relatively modest.

For example, the head football coach at the University of Southern California and a Columbia University dermatologist each earned more than $4 million in 2007, making them the highest paid employees at private colleges. The presidents, meanwhile, earned about $900,000 and $1.4 million, respectively.

In a Time of Uncertainty, Colleges Hold Fast to the Status Quo

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:09:47 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: October 25, 2009

Clip Source: chronicle.com

The financial meltdown that has caused seismic upheavals in many other corners of the economy hasn't changed much about how colleges operate.

College leaders may be thinking about new strategies for doing more with less, and a few are actually putting those new approaches into practice. But as the country passes the first year of a supposed New Normal, few signs of revolutionary change are apparent.

The absence of radical change is probably a measure of the resiliency of the higher-education sector, the cushion provided by federal stimulus funds, and the political difficulty of instituting swift changes at such complex and decentralized organizations.

"It's tough to be out there by yourself," notes Suzanne Walsh, senior program director at the Lumina Foundation for Education, which has been using its grants to encourage experiments on ways to educate students at lower cost.

Are Women Getting Sadder?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:19:19 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: Or Are We All Just Getting a Lot More Gullible?
By Barbara Ehrenreich

October 13, 2009

Clip Source: ehrenreich.blogs.com

Feminism made women miserable. This, anyway, seems to be the most popular takeaway from "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness," a recent study by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers which purports to show that women have become steadily unhappier since 1972. Maureen Dowd and Arianna Huffington greeted the news with somber perplexity, but the more common response has been a triumphant: I told you so.

Another Reason Why Capitalism Stinks : Science Daily

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:11:46 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: High Death Rates And Short Life Expectancy Among Homeless And Marginally Housed

[PS The last sentence in this article is a no brainer! tr]

Clip Source: paeditorsblog.blogspot.com

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Homeless and marginally housed people have much higher mortality and shorter life expectancy than could be expected on the basis of low income alone, concludes a study from Canada published on bmj.com.

Previous studies have found high levels of excess mortality among the homeless compared with the general population, but little information is available on death rates among homeless and marginally housed people living in low-cost collective dwellings, such as rooming houses and hotels.

So, researchers at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto and Statistics Canada compared death rates and life expectancy among a representative sample of homeless and marginally housed people with rates in the poorest and richest income sectors of the general population.

Does the Book Industry Want To Get Napstered?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:52:48 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: If the publishers force Amazon to raise prices on e-books, that's what will happen.
By Jack Shafer

Posted Wednesday, July 15, 2009, at 7:13 PM ET

Clip Source: www.slate.com

The book publishers are in the process of picking a fight with Amazon and other sellers over the pricing of e-books. If the publishers are lucky, they'll lose. Here's why.

Publishers generally sell e-books to Amazon and its competitors for the same price they sell paper books to retailers—about half the list price of the paper version. Amazon and the others insist on selling most e-books for about $9.99, which pleases the publishers when the e-book retail price is close to that of the paper edition: Currently, Amazon is selling the $14 list paperback of The Big Sleep for $10.98 and the electronic Kindle version for $9.99.

Self-Love and Basketball

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:42:18 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: How More than a Game buffs LeBron James' reputation.

By Josh Levin

Posted Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, at 5:37 PM ET

Clip Source: www.slate.com

The best documentaries change the way we think. Sports movies soothe us by following a formula: There are heroes and villains and obstacles to overcome, and the big game always comes down to a final shot. It's a rare sports doc—the exemplary Hoop Dreams, for one—that succeeds in reconciling that conflict. More Than a Game (Lionsgate), the new documentary about LeBron James' high school years, is a more typical work of sports nonfiction. When the complications of real life come up against the conventions of sports moviedom, the clichés win out.

Facial Profiling

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:40:37 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: Can you tell if a man is dangerous by the shape of his mug?

By Dave Johns

Posted Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009, at 10:36 AM ET

Clip Source: www.slate.com

On Nov. 27, 2008, Indian police interrogators came face to face with the only gunman captured alive in last year's bloody Mumbai terror attacks. They were surprised by what they saw. Ajmal Kasab, who had murdered dozens in the city's main railway station, stood barely 5 feet tall, with bright eyes and apple cheeks. His boyish looks earned him a nickname among Indians—"the baby-faced killer"—and further spooked a rattled public. "Who or what is he? Dangerous fanatic or exploited innocent?" wondered a horrified columnist in the Times of India. No one, it seems, had expected the face of terror to look so sweet.

Coca-Cola Unveils Sleek, New 90-Calorie Mini Can

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:39:14 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins

Clip Source: www.businesswire.com

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A little happiness in a stylish new package is coming soon to your refrigerator. Coca-Cola today introduced a new 90-calorie sleek mini can to give consumers a better way to manage their calories.

“As the world’s largest beverage company, we take seriously the need to help consumers balance calories consumed with calories expended,” said Sandy Douglas, president, Coca-Cola North America. “The Coca-Cola mini can innovation reinforces the Company’s support for healthy, active lifestyles.”

The 7.5-fluid ounce mini can carries the distinct Coca-Cola contour-shaped bottle image in white with a red background. Additional brands that also will feature the sleek mini can packaging include: Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola and Barq’s Root Beer. It will be sold in eight-packs.

Why Are You So Damn Happy?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:58:49 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: by Megan Hustad

Clip Source: www.thedailybeast.com

In June, New York magazine asked the Class of ’09 to characterize their mental outlook. Seven percent identified themselves as pessimists and 81 percent placed themselves in the optimist camp. Drilled for specifics, a scant 2 percent said they believed their lives would be worse in five years, while a whopping 95 percent saw greater things ahead—a strong indication that some self-professed pessimists aren’t so gloomy after all. Indeed, looking on the bright side has become all but mandatory in our culture, Barbara Ehrenreich argues in her new book, Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.

“Well, Joel Osteen has a very special relationship with the deity. He just has to say things like ‘Thank you, God, for blessing me with the best parking spot.’ And he gets it. He also can get good tables in restaurants, using the same method.”

If Colleges Valued Students, They'd Value Adjuncts

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:38:32 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: By Isaac Sweeney
October 20, 2009

Clip Source: chronicle.com

I walk down the noisy hallway, where the students push and shove their way into the narrow stairway they use between classes. I break from the crowd and glance to my right. Through the half-closed blinds on the glass doors, I see most of my colleagues gathered in the conference room. They look serious, intently listening to the one in the corner, who seems to be giving the speech of his life. I am witnessing important business, I think to myself.

I am an adjunct instructor in an innovative writing department in Virginia. It doesn't take long for me to realize that I'm looking into a conference room of full-time faculty members. Then I remember that it's the second Wednesday of the month and time for the faculty meeting. Adjunct faculty members are invited, too, in my department, but it just so happens that the meeting is always on Wednesdays at 11:15 a.m., when most of the adjuncts are scheduled to teach so that the full-time faculty members can have this meeting.

The Cult of the Vintage Honda

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:04:07 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: A time machine on two wheels.
By Tim Wu

Posted Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, at 9:38 AM ET

Clip Source: www.slate.com

The ride is the definition of sporting, yet the sheer durability of the bike is also oddly affecting. There is something touching about a machine that runs in 2009 as it did in 1973. It is like a time machine on two wheels. Today, there are very few things in our lives that last that long, with the exception of Danish furniture and blood relations. As with any treasured possession, you reach a point where durability begins to feel something more like loyalty. One is reminded of an aged yet still sporting dog who does what he can to fetch your morning paper.

Does the Brain Like E-Books?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:01:52 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: October 14, 2009 , 6:24 pm

Clip Source: roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com

Writing and reading — from newspapers to novels, academic reports to gossip magazines — are migrating ever faster to digital screens, like laptops, Kindles and cellphones. Traditional book publishers are putting out “vooks,” which place videos in electronic text that can be read online or on an iPhone. Others are republishing old books in electronic form. And libraries, responding to demand, are offering more e-books for download.

Is there a difference in the way the brain takes in or absorbs information when it is presented electronically versus on paper? Does the reading experience change, from retention to comprehension, depending on the medium?

Alan Liu, English professor

Sandra Aamodt, author, “Welcome to Your Brain”

Maryanne Wolf, professor of child development

David Gelernter, computer scientist

Gloria Mark, professor of informatics

How Nice Are We?

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:57:33 GMT

clipped by: RayWatkins
clipper's remarks: What chimps can teach us about our mess of emotions.

By Christine Kenneally
Posted Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, at 7:03 AM ET

Clip Source: www.slate.com

Frans de Waal, director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, believes that it's just as natural to be nice as it is be mean. Man may be wolf to man, as the old saying has it, but de Waal points out with casual eloquence in The Age of Empathy that wolves are often quite lovely to one another.

The scientific history of good nature in humans and other animals is a notably short one. Feelings like sympathy and concern, as well as acts of charity and nurture, have traditionally been ignored or dismissed. The study of niceness was a casualty of the Behaviorist school of psychology in the early 20^th century, which defined the cognitive and emotional lives of animals out of existence altogether.